Grants Database

The Foundation awards approximately 200 grants per year (excluding the Sloan Research Fellowships), totaling roughly $80 million dollars in annual commitments in support of research and education in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and economics. This database contains grants for currently operating programs going back to 2008. For grants from prior years and for now-completed programs, see the annual reports section of this website.

Grants Database

Grantee
Amount
City
Year
  • grantee: Center for Economic and Policy Research
    amount: $115,750
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2018

    To analyze the effect of and additional contracting layer, Managed Services Providers (MSPs) on lead firms and workers engaged in non-standard work arrangements

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Eileen Appelbaum

    To analyze the effect of and additional contracting layer, Managed Services Providers (MSPs) on lead firms and workers engaged in non-standard work arrangements

    More
  • grantee: The Manufacturing Institute
    amount: $125,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2018

    To study upskilling strategies among manufacturers for aging workforce and explore best practices on how these companies have been able to successfully extend the working years of this group

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Chad Moutray

    To study upskilling strategies among manufacturers for aging workforce and explore best practices on how these companies have been able to successfully extend the working years of this group

    More
  • grantee: Johns Hopkins University
    amount: $19,124
    city: Baltimore, MD
    year: 2018

    To develop a framework for updating the Digital Curation Centre Curation Lifecycle Model

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator G. Choudhury

    To develop a framework for updating the Digital Curation Centre Curation Lifecycle Model

    More
  • grantee: Hypothesis Project
    amount: $12,000
    city: San Francisco, CA
    year: 2018

    To partially support a workshop and hackathon to develop a joint roadmap for open science software tools

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Dan Whaley

    To partially support a workshop and hackathon to develop a joint roadmap for open science software tools

    More
  • grantee: Ithaka Harbors Inc
    amount: $20,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2018

    To partially support the second Bowen Colloquium

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Catharine Hill

    To partially support the second Bowen Colloquium

    More
  • grantee: University of Pennsylvania
    amount: $48,784
    city: Philadelphia, PA
    year: 2018

    To support continued development of Manubot, a git-native authoring tool for scientific manuscripts

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Daniel Himmelstein

    To support continued development of Manubot, a git-native authoring tool for scientific manuscripts

    More
  • grantee: Boston University
    amount: $50,000
    city: Boston, MA
    year: 2018

    To organize an interdisciplinary conference that will launch the Ecological Forecasting Initiative

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Michael Dietze

    To organize an interdisciplinary conference that will launch the Ecological Forecasting Initiative

    More
  • grantee: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
    amount: $125,000
    city: Blacksburg, VA
    year: 2018

    To conduct technical research on improving the accuracy and cost-effectiveness of the 2030 Decennial Census and the American Community Survey

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Sallie Keller

    To conduct technical research on improving the accuracy and cost-effectiveness of the 2030 Decennial Census and the American Community Survey

    More
  • grantee: Harvard University
    amount: $125,000
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2018

    To compare, both theoretically and empirically, standard versus ideal ways of determining which kinds of statistical findings merit publication

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Maximilian Kasy

    To compare, both theoretically and empirically, standard versus ideal ways of determining which kinds of statistical findings merit publication

    More
  • grantee: University of Louisville Research Foundation
    amount: $30,700
    city: Louisville, KY
    year: 2018

    To support a book about Charles Willson Peale, creator of a natural history/art museum in Revolutionary-era America, and how the museum influenced the public’s perception of science and art

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Lee Dugatkin

    To support a book about Charles Willson Peale, creator of a natural history/art museum in Revolutionary-era America, and how the museum influenced the public’s perception of science and art

    More
  • grantee: Whitney Museum of American Art
    amount: $100,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2018

    To support a major exhibition on the intersection of art and technology from the 1960s until today

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program New Media
    • Investigator Christiane Paul

    To support a major exhibition on the intersection of art and technology from the 1960s until today

    More
  • grantee: Food & Environment Reporting Network
    amount: $63,587
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2018

    To support immersive science storytelling on the Gastropod podcast and a diversity evaluation and implementation plan

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Radio
    • Investigator Tom Laskawy

    To support immersive science storytelling on the Gastropod podcast and a diversity evaluation and implementation plan

    More
  • grantee: The Internet Archive
    amount: $20,000
    city: San Francisco, CA
    year: 2018

    To partially support participation in the 2018 Decentralized Web Summit

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Wendy Hanamura

    To partially support participation in the 2018 Decentralized Web Summit

    More
  • grantee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    amount: $125,000
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2018

    To provide final support in completing the first phase of a project examining the component costs of battery chemistries and train the next generation of scholars in energy systems analysis

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Jessika Trancik

    To provide final support in completing the first phase of a project examining the component costs of battery chemistries and train the next generation of scholars in energy systems analysis

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Davis
    amount: $101,430
    city: Davis, CA
    year: 2018

    To develop a business plan to sustain the activities of the Microbiology of the Built Environment Network

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Jonathan Eisen

    To develop a business plan to sustain the activities of the Microbiology of the Built Environment Network

    More
  • grantee: Stevens Institute of Technology
    amount: $19,762
    city: Hoboken, NJ
    year: 2018

    To pilot two middle school Math Circles in NYC that informs the development of a system of Math Circles in the NYC area

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Jan Cannizzo

    To pilot two middle school Math Circles in NYC that informs the development of a system of Math Circles in the NYC area

    More
  • grantee: Code for Science and Society
    amount: $34,300
    city: Portland, OR
    year: 2018

    To partially support the production of a handbook on best practices for open source academic software communities

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Danielle Robinson

    To partially support the production of a handbook on best practices for open source academic software communities

    More
  • grantee: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
    amount: $38,337
    city: Chapel Hill, NC
    year: 2018

    To increase the participation of social science data archives in the Research Data Alliance

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Jonathan Crabtree

    To increase the participation of social science data archives in the Research Data Alliance

    More
  • grantee: Northeastern University
    amount: $125,000
    city: Boston, MA
    year: 2018

    To develop a plan for facilitating responsible and reproducible research on administrative data from multiple social media sources

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator David Lazer

    To develop a plan for facilitating responsible and reproducible research on administrative data from multiple social media sources

    More
  • grantee: Michelle Nijhuis
    amount: $40,000
    city: White Salmon, WA
    year: 2018

    To support the research, fact-checking, and promotion of a book about the species conservation movement to be published by W.W. Norton in 2020

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Michelle Nijhuis

    To support the research, fact-checking, and promotion of a book about the species conservation movement to be published by W.W. Norton in 2020

    More
  • grantee: Rebecca Schwarzlose
    amount: $39,400
    city: Saint Louis, MO
    year: 2018

    To support the writing and illustrations for a book about brain maps to be published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Profile Books in Spring 2020

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Rebecca Schwarzlose

    To support the writing and illustrations for a book about brain maps to be published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Profile Books in Spring 2020

    More
  • grantee: Johns Hopkins University
    amount: $65,456
    city: Baltimore, MD
    year: 2018

    To assess the completeness and comprehensiveness of existing United States energy infrastructure datasets

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Sarah Jordaan

    To assess the completeness and comprehensiveness of existing United States energy infrastructure datasets

    More
  • grantee: Arizona State University
    amount: $122,846
    city: Tempe, AZ
    year: 2018

    To integrate engineering principles and thought into the Masters of Public Policy/Masters of Public Administration programs to enhance the effectiveness of public and nonprofit managers

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Donald Siegel

    To integrate engineering principles and thought into the Masters of Public Policy/Masters of Public Administration programs to enhance the effectiveness of public and nonprofit managers

    More
  • grantee: Open Knowledge Foundation
    amount: $749,624
    city: Cambridge, United Kingdom
    year: 2018

    To support adoption and use of a lightweight data packaging standard in order to reduce the frictions experienced in the acquisition, sharing, use, and reuse of research data

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Paul Walsh

    In 2015, a Sloan Foundation grant to Open Knowledge led to the creation of the “frictionless data” standard, a set of protocols for packaging tabular datasets in uniform ways that could be used, if adopted widely enough, to greatly simply the logistics of exporting, transporting, and importing data. This grant funds efforts by Open Knowledge to broaden adoption of the frictionless data standard through outreach to scholarly organizations, data platforms, analysis tools, and specific research fields. Over the three-year grant period, Open Knowledge will use grant funds to conduct outreach and support activities, structured partly as high-touch field/context-specific pilots, and partly as broader outreach and engagement to the wider user community.

    To support adoption and use of a lightweight data packaging standard in order to reduce the frictions experienced in the acquisition, sharing, use, and reuse of research data

    More
  • grantee: City College of New York - CUNY
    amount: $250,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2018

    To develop an open source framework for prototyping 3D scientific visualization applications using game engines

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Huy Vo

    Major video game rendering engines are capable of rich 3D environmental rendering and physics simulation, not to mention built-in virtual and augmented reality capabilities. They are, however, rarely utilized in scholarly research, in part because researchers who have explored their use for data visualization have had to manage the arduous task of configuring and structuring their research data in order to load it into the game engine. This grant funds a two-year initiative by Huy Vo of the City College of New York to dramatically lower barriers to the use of game engines for scientific visualization. In the first year, Vo will develop a standardized workflow and open source plug-in for the popular Unity 3D gaming engine that will enable the easy importation of research data, generation of geometries, and construction of interactive visualizations. In year two, Vo will pilot the plug-in himself in two research collaborations (one with CUNY researchers on climate adaptation and the reliability of power sector infrastructure, one with AT&T Research Labs on mobile antenna placement). He will also use it as the platform for student projects in a CUNY data visualization course.

    To develop an open source framework for prototyping 3D scientific visualization applications using game engines

    More
  • grantee: Columbia University
    amount: $384,633
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2018

    To develop a global, scalable, and sustainable technical and organizational infrastructure for persistent unique identifiers of physical scientific samples

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Kerstin Lehnert

    The International Geo Sample Number (IGSN) grew out of an initial need to foster better citation of geological samples. As of mid-2018, there are over 6.5 million individual physical specimens represented within the IGSN, and a network of 25 IGSN “allocating agents” across five continents. After a number of years of growth within geoscience, the IGSN is confronted with increased interest from other disciplines; for example, the IGSN has already been used to register IDs for biological specimens and archaeological artifacts. Rather than encourage the development of a number of different discipline-specific registries, Lehnert and an international team of collaborators plan to redesign IGSN to support physical samples and specimens from across the sciences. Funds from this grant support technical development of the IGSN platform and a series of working meetings to bring together current IGSN registrars, other stakeholders, and persistent identifier (PID) experts to strategically plan the organizational and technical future of the initiative.

    To develop a global, scalable, and sustainable technical and organizational infrastructure for persistent unique identifiers of physical scientific samples

    More
  • grantee: Wikimedia Foundation
    amount: $200,000
    city: San Francisco, CA
    year: 2018

    To support three years of workshops, hackathons, and outreach at the intersection of academic citation, bibliographic metadata, and Wikipedia

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Dario Taraborelli

    This grant provides three years of support for gatherings of WikiCite, a project within the Wikipedia ecosystem designed to both improve citation within Wikipedia and to expand the Wikidata project in ways useful to the scientific community. Grant funds will support a dedicated annual WikiCite meeting, as well as a series of smaller satellite meetings at other Wikimedia events. The organizers will also maintain a strong presence at other scholarly communication meetings, bringing the energy and technical sophistication of the Wikimedia community to bear on innovation in scholarly communication more broadly.

    To support three years of workshops, hackathons, and outreach at the intersection of academic citation, bibliographic metadata, and Wikipedia

    More
  • grantee: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
    amount: $501,416
    city: Chapel Hill, NC
    year: 2018

    To improve the ability to curate and verify replication datasets within the Dataverse data archiving platform by integrating computational notebooks and software containerization with data curation workflows

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Jonathan Crabtree

    This grant funds a project led by Jonathan Crabtree, Director of Cyberinfrastructure at the University of North Carolina’s Odum Institute, to improve and expand the capabilities of the Dataverse open source data repository platform. Odum is responsible for executing and implementing the Replication and Verification Policy for the American Journal of Political Science (AJPS) and uses Dataverse as the underlying platform where authors who publish in AJPS can upload their data and software code to ensure results may be replicated. Because Dataverse was originally designed for data and not software, however, the process can be unwieldy and time consuming. Crabtree and his team plan to use the Jupyter computing platform and the open source software “containerization” toolkit Docker to create a “Confirmable Reproducible Research (CoRe2) environment” for Dataverse that would combine the ability to containerize computational research with communication and workflow tools. This would greatly speed and partially automate the process of verifying that submitted research results can be verified using the code and data uploaded. Grant funds will provide support for this project for three years.  years.

    To improve the ability to curate and verify replication datasets within the Dataverse data archiving platform by integrating computational notebooks and software containerization with data curation workflows

    More
  • grantee: Harvard University
    amount: $499,697
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2018

    To improve the ability to curate and verify replication datasets within the Dataverse data archiving platform through a suite of software containerization and metadata tools, and to support the development of a new data curation service at the Harvard Dataverse

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Merce Crosas

    This grant funds a series of four projects by Mercи Crosas, Chief Data Science and Technology Officer at Harvard’s Institute for Quantitative Social Science to expand and improve software handling capabilities of the Dataverse open source data repository platform. First Crosas will integrate Dataverse with Encapsulator, an open source tool that allows the creation of a computational “time capsule” that preserves the exact computational environment used to conduct a piece of data analysis. Second, Crosas will create links between Dataverse and Code Ocean, a computational reproducibility platform that was spun out of Cornell Technion’s incubator program. Third, Crosas will develop a set of metadata versioning and exploration tools that will increase incentives for data curation by returning richer usage statistics to data providers and publishers. Finally, Crosas will model and pilot a fee-based curation service that would allow the sustainable scaling of data and code curation in Dataverse. This work, like all other development on and organizational innovation within the Dataverse community, will be freely available and useful to the dozens of other institutions running the software to power their own data archives.

    To improve the ability to curate and verify replication datasets within the Dataverse data archiving platform through a suite of software containerization and metadata tools, and to support the development of a new data curation service at the Harvard Dataverse

    More
  • grantee: Center for Open Science
    amount: $499,431
    city: Charlottesville, VA
    year: 2018

    To implement and test features to signal credibility and trust on preprint services

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Brian Nosek

    The Center for Open Science’s (COS) preprint platform was designed to serve a variety of scholarly communities, especially lowering barriers to entry for those disciplines new to preprint publication whose needs were not being served by the larger, more highly powered preprint servers like arXiv. This grant funds a project by COS founder Brian Nosek to use the COS preprint platform as the setting for a series of experiments that will test how user trust is affected by different preprint platform features. Nosek proposes to use the launch of already-planned features like annotation and visual icons to run a set of experiments on the assignment of trust by readers of scientific research. While the budget includes some technical development, the bulk of the requested funding will support the COS “metascience” team to take a mixed-methods research approach, combining surveys with analysis of usage data from the preprint servers to understand the impact of annotation and “reproducibility badges” on readers’ perceptions of trustworthiness of individual preprints and of the preprint server overall.

    To implement and test features to signal credibility and trust on preprint services

    More
  • grantee: National Information Standards Organization
    amount: $197,372
    city: Baltimore, MD
    year: 2018

    To support the implementation of MathML in the open source Chromium browser

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Todd Carpenter

    Somewhere between 50% and 60% of internet users use Google Chrome to browse the web. Chrome, unfortunately, doesn’t natively display mathematics using the standard XML markup language MathML. This forces sites like Wikipedia to generate static images of mathematical notation from the underlying MathML when Chrome can’t render the markup on its own. Not only does this have implications for accessibility, it also inhibits the development of innovative new interfaces and applications that would rely on dynamic interaction with mathematical notation via browser-based programming languages like JavaScript. Funds from this grant will support a project led by the National Information Standards Organization to implement full MathML rendering in Chromium (the open source codebase underlying the Chrome web browser). Technical development will be undertaken by developers at Igalia, an open source software consultancy that has played a key role in MathML integration in other major web engines.

    To support the implementation of MathML in the open source Chromium browser

    More
  • grantee: California Polytechnic State University
    amount: $1,684,036
    city: San Luis Obispo, CA
    year: 2018

    To develop software and other computational research infrastructure for providing safe and secure access to sensitive data

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Brian Granger

    This grant funds a project led by Brian Granger to expand and enhance Jupyter Notebooks—a powerful, popular, and open-source scientific computing platform—to enhance its handling of private, proprietary, or otherwise sensitive data. Planned features to be developed and implemented include a nuanced permissions structure that can be used to ensure that only properly credentialed individuals can see or manipulate data, stronger event logging and internal telemetry, and encryption of data both at rest and in transit. To test the software, Granger will work closely with a wide variety of data holders including a U.S. company dealing with health data; a German warehouse for financial data; and NYU’s Center for Urban Science and Progress (CUSP), which collect all kinds of municipal data. Grant funds support software development along with a host of dissemination activities that will promote and test Jupyter’s expanded capabilities among researchers dealing with sensitive data.

    To develop software and other computational research infrastructure for providing safe and secure access to sensitive data

    More
  • grantee: Georgetown University
    amount: $1,691,657
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2018

    To promote the safe and responsible use of administrative data in academic research by establishing an alliance whose member institutions intermediate between data producers and data users

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Amy O'Hara

    This grant provides funds for the creation and operation of the Administrative Data Research Institute (ADRI), a national membership organization designed to provide services and set standards for the global network of Administrative Data Research Facilities (ADRFs). An ADRF is a data intermediary, i.e., an institution that facilitates researcher access to private or sensitive data owned or held by corporations and government entities. To become a member of the new ADRI, member ADRF’s would have to provably maintain high data standards and practices, particularly regarding data privacy and security. In return, the ADRI would provide member institutions with expert advice and leadership concerning the many technical, legal, political, or privacy challenges that data intermediaries face. Above all, the ADRI would help engender trust in at least three domains where it is much needed: among the member intermediaries when it comes to arrangements for linking their data; among the data producers when it comes to negotiating data use agreements with member intermediaries; and among the public and their policymakers when it comes to allowing administrative data containing sensitive information to be reused through member intermediaries for research purposes. Grant funds support initial start-up and operational costs of the new network for a period of two years.

    To promote the safe and responsible use of administrative data in academic research by establishing an alliance whose member institutions intermediate between data producers and data users

    More
  • grantee: Stanford University
    amount: $647,671
    city: Stanford, CA
    year: 2018

    To study the behavioral welfare effects of online media consumption

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Matthew Gentzkow

    Funds from this grant support three different large-scale and randomized field experiments, devised by economists Matthew Gentzkow at Stanford and Hunter Allcott at New York University, that aim to help us better understand the various ways social media and smartphones impact our lives. In the first, Gentzkow and Allcott study the welfare implications of Facebook usage by measuring the impact of cutting off access to that platform. In the second experiment, the team studies how limiting smartphone access to social media and other apps affects the welfare of college students. The third experiment concerns the demand for “fake news” and investigates what happens to consumer behavior when incentives to find accurate information increase. Grant funds support the fielding and analysis of all three experiments as well as documentation of methods to enable easy replication by other scholars.

    To study the behavioral welfare effects of online media consumption

    More
  • grantee: Columbia University
    amount: $209,610
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2018

    To conduct experiments on the behavioral welfare effects of heterogeneous nudging

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Eric Johnson

    Nudging consists of changing how alternatives are presented in ways designed to help choosers select what they say they would ideally want. Substantial empirical evidence shows that nudges can significantly—and sometimes substantially—modify behaviors. Yet much remains mysterious about nudging, especially with regard to heterogeneous effects and behavioral welfare economics. How is it possible to create effective choice architectures when not everyone should be nudged the same way? This grant funds a series of experiments by Eric Johnson of Columbia University. He has devised a series of experiments about what he calls “smart nudges.” In contrast to the one-size-fits-all approach, these take into account how individuals differ. One idea is to set different defaults for different people depending on their background characteristics. Another technique, called “preference checklists,” presents a prospective decision-maker with a list of criteria that other people sometimes take into account when considering similar choices. Checking off the criteria that the decision-maker thinks should apply in this case is a way of bringing to mind factors that might otherwise be forgotten or ignored. Johnson’s hypothesis is that choice architectures that incorporate smart defaults and preference checklists will be welfare-enhancing compared to traditional one-size-fits-all nudges. Grant funds support the fielding and analysis of these experiments, and the publication of two papers on the results.

    To conduct experiments on the behavioral welfare effects of heterogeneous nudging

    More
  • grantee: The University of Chicago
    amount: $690,000
    city: Chicago, IL
    year: 2018

    To develop, debug, and disseminate macroeconomic models and software that do not assume rational expectations

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Thomas Sargent

    In economics, the assumption called “rational expectations” holds that the value of a variable expected by agents in a model matches the expected value predicted by the model. As a description of the decision-making processes of actual, real-life people, rational expectations models seem unrealistic. The idea nevertheless dominates much of contemporary economics, not least because it vastly simplifies the modeling process. This grant funds work led by Nobel laureates Tom Sargent and Lars Hansen to develop a robust, mathematically rigorous alternative to rational expectations models. Sargent and Hansen envision agents not as utility maximizers with fully rational expectations, but rather as decision-makers using Bayesian reasoning to update their beliefs in light of uncertainty and limited information. The approach, while technically daunting, is very promising as a better description of real life. Grant funds will support the development, debugging, and dissemination of new models and of the software for analyzing them as well as a workshop, conference, and travel expenses for junior scholars participating in the project.

    To develop, debug, and disseminate macroeconomic models and software that do not assume rational expectations

    More
  • grantee: University of Arizona
    amount: $291,997
    city: Tucson, AZ
    year: 2018

    To study gender differences in the choice of subfield specialization among academic economists

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Ronald Oaxaca

    Women economists cluster more in certain subfields (e.g., labor, health, public economics) than in others (e.g., macro, theory, or international trade). This grant funds work by labor economists Ron Oaxaca and Eva Sierminska to analyze this gendered difference in career choices among professional economists. Rigorously analyzing why men and women make career decisions differently requires holding unchanged as many factors as possible besides gender. Focusing on career choices in graduate school allows just that. Ph.D. candidates in the same program, for example, interact with the same group of professors and advisors, expect similar sets of potential salaries, and face the same specialization options. Grant funds are supporting the creation of a public use dataset, analysis of that dataset, development of a website about the project, and the production of two research articles and a less technical policy brief reporting the results of the analysis.

    To study gender differences in the choice of subfield specialization among academic economists

    More
  • grantee: FPF Education and Innovation Foundation
    amount: $508,343
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2018

    To launch the Corporate-Academic Data Stewardship Research Alliance, a private company peer-to-peer network to accelerate privacy protective sharing of administrative data between businesses and academic researchers

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Jules Polonetsky

    According to a Sloan-funded survey, Chief Privacy Officers at major corporations like Amazon, AT&T, Comcast, Facebook, and General Electric say they are willing to share private data with independent scholars under two conditions. First, they want to take risks and institute policies that are similar to their peers. Second, to the extent that shared data helps academics gain insight into important societal issues, they want to be widely recognized for the role they played. This grant funds a project by the nonprofit Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) to launch a peer-to-peer network of private sector C-suite leaders called the Corporate-Academic Data Stewardship Research Alliance. Members will collaborate in order to encourage, recognize, and honor model data-sharing arrangements between the private sector and academe. The network will hold regular phone conferences as well as quarterly in person meetings to discuss how to overcome the legal, practical, and technical barriers that hinder cooperation with independent scholars. The network will also develop and publicize a CEO-level award honoring those corporate leaders who have made pioneering data-sharing agreements with independent scholars. Grant funds will help defray operating costs of the new network for 18 months.

    To launch the Corporate-Academic Data Stewardship Research Alliance, a private company peer-to-peer network to accelerate privacy protective sharing of administrative data between businesses and academic researchers

    More
  • grantee: Dartmouth College
    amount: $207,206
    city: Hanover, NH
    year: 2018

    To study, by running behavioral experiments, how consumers make decisions about insurance products like annuities

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Erzo Luttmer

    This grant funds work by behavioral economists Erzo Luttmer from Dartmouth and Dmitry Taubinsky from University of California, Berkeley, who are analyzing how behavioral biases might explain the annuity puzzle—the observation that annuities, as a financial product, are not nearly so popular as economic theory and people’s stated preferences would predict them to be. Of the many possible explanations for the annuity puzzle, behavioral biases are not easy to study. Consumers who avoid annuitization might have privileged information and unobserved motivations (like making bequests, for example), or they may be systematically affected by behavioral biases that result in suboptimal choices. Teasing out what accounts for what is not just difficult, but also important for devising potential remedies. Luttmer and Taubinsky have carefully designed a series of controlled experiments where real economic incentives are at stake, but where most other complications from the real world have been abstracted away, thus allowing them to isolate how subjects’ psychological attitudes toward time and risk affect decision-making. By identifying the role behavioral mechanisms play in such decisions, this research will generate new insights about the annuity puzzle in particular, and also about the behavioral welfare economics of risk taking, saving decisions, and insurance markets more generally.

    To study, by running behavioral experiments, how consumers make decisions about insurance products like annuities

    More
  • grantee: Decision Science Research Institute, Inc.
    amount: $622,549
    city: Eugene, OR
    year: 2018

    To conduct surveys, measurements, and behavioral experiments about public perceptions of risk using new methods and technologies

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Paul Slovic

    Behavioral economists assume that people make decisions based on the perceived probabilities of events. Behavioral experiments, interpretations, and the policies they inform should therefore depend on information about popular perceptions about likelihoods. This grant funds work by Paul Slovic of the University of Oregon and co-principal investigator Howard Kunreuther of the Wharton School to field surveys that will collect data on public perceptions of the probabilities for a host of important events, including nuclear war, chemical attack, opioid addiction, school shootings, as well as the mass adoption of driverless cars or e-cigarettes. Opinions about more than a hundred hazards will be elicited. In addition, Slovic and Kunreuther will conduct textual analyses based on the frequency that Google News describes a given hazard using words with high emotional valence. Last, the team will field a series of experiments designed to probe how people act on those perceptions and what can be done to help everyone make better estimates and better decisions.

    To conduct surveys, measurements, and behavioral experiments about public perceptions of risk using new methods and technologies

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Los Angeles
    amount: $262,374
    city: Los Angeles, CA
    year: 2018

    To answer questions about how California’s workforce system serves older workers in terms of training and its effectiveness

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Till von Wachter

    This grant funds a project by Till von Wachter, professor of economics at UCLA and faculty director of the California Policy Lab at UCLA, to examine how retraining programs affect employment outcomes among older workers. Four research questions are at the core of von Wachter’s work: How has the incidence of employment instability and unemployment evolved for older workers? How well has the workforce system, particularly its job training opportunities, served older unemployed workers? What are the outcomes of job training and other services for older workers, in terms of employment and earnings? Has the ability of the system to improve older workers’ outcomes increased after recent legislative reforms? To shed light on these questions, Von Wachter has gained unprecedented access to a comprehensive linked dataset covering California’s workforce at the individual level. These data include quarterly earnings records for individual workers for each employment relationship, including identifiers for the employing establishment; quarterly employment, wage bill, and detailed industry affiliation for establishments; individual Unemployment Insurance (UI) claims, with detailed information on duration of claim, benefits received, worker demographics, occupation, and education; and detailed information on type of workforce service received, including type of training and job search assistance, the dates of service, as well as information from intake and exit interviews with caseworkers. Von Wachter’s work has the potential to advance understanding of how to use training to increase labor force participation of older workers and could inform local and national policymakers interested in improving the workforce system.

    To answer questions about how California’s workforce system serves older workers in terms of training and its effectiveness

    More
  • grantee: Brookings Institution
    amount: $697,678
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2018

    To develop and justify specific, actionable policy reforms to encourage increased saving and enable longer working lives, as well as to identify policy reforms to enable consumers to have greater access to and understanding of retirement products in the private market

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Martin Baily

    This grant provides partial funding for a project led by Martin Baily of the Brookings Institution to develop a new paradigm for work and retirement that incorporates working longer as an essential tool for increasing retirement security. Baily aims to develop the case for specific, actionable policy reforms that will encourage increased saving and enable longer working lives, as well as identifying policy reforms to enable consumers to have greater access to and understanding of retirement products in the private market. First, Baily will commission a series of detailed policy proposals that will be then presented in public forums—three public forums with three papers presented at each—directed at educating federal and (where appropriate) state policymakers. Each of the nine papers commissioned for the policy series will offer practical recommendations grounded in research that can be adopted by policymakers and private-sector actors. Suggested topics include how to make jobs more flexible, training for older workers, reducing the tax penalty for working longer, age discrimination, annuities, reverse mortgages, and long-term care insurance. After the briefings, Baily (with co-principal investigator Benjamin Harris) will then author a report that will lay out a comprehensive new vision for retirement. This will include three complementary components: reform of labor market policies to accommodate longer lives; creation of more robust private insurance markets and better products; and changes to the saving landscape, particularly for the growing population without access to traditional retirement accounts (for instance, freelance workers).

    To develop and justify specific, actionable policy reforms to encourage increased saving and enable longer working lives, as well as to identify policy reforms to enable consumers to have greater access to and understanding of retirement products in the private market

    More
  • grantee: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    amount: $253,000
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2018

    To support a two-year phase of collaborative study on facilitating work at older ages

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Kevin Milligan

    This grant funds a research network of economic scholars studying issues at the intersection of aging and work. Led by Kevin Milligan of the University of British Columbia, the network includes David Cutler of Harvard, Ellen Meara of Dartmouth, John Shoven of Stanford, Nicole Maestas of Harvard, Arie Kapetyn of University of Southern California, and Sita Slavov of George Mason, among others. Grant funds will support an annual workshop for network members and various other convenings allowing them to set a common research agenda, share ideas, and discuss and inform each other’s research. Over the next two years, network members will address various aspects of three topics: How public policy incentives affect work at older ages; what aspects of the workplace and employer practices can sustain work at older ages; and how older workers fit into the overall labor market. Overall, grant funding will support the production of at least eight academic papers on these topics.

    To support a two-year phase of collaborative study on facilitating work at older ages

    More
  • grantee: American Film Institute
    amount: $345,000
    city: Los Angeles, CA
    year: 2018

    To support the development and production of science and technology films, television, and new media projects by top film students

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Joe Petricca

    This grant provides three years of continued support to the American Film Institute’s (AFI) efforts to encourage young screenwriters and filmmakers to write and produce compelling, engaging narrative films that explore scientific themes or have scientists, engineers, or mathematicians as major characters. AFI’s program includes three annual award programs: a $25,000 award given to the best student film project that brings science and technology to life; a $20,000 annual screenwriting award given to the best science-themed script; and a yearly tuition scholarship worth $45,000 given to an incoming graduate student with a background in the hard sciences who wishes to become a filmmaker and to incorporate scientific themes in his or her filmmaking. In addition, AFI holds a seminar series where established actors, writers, directors, and producers talk to students about science and Hollywood, and provides access to working scientists to serve as mentors on student scripts.

    To support the development and production of science and technology films, television, and new media projects by top film students

    More
  • grantee: University of Southern California
    amount: $415,654
    city: Los Angeles, CA
    year: 2018

    To support the development and production of science and technology films, television, and new media projects by top film students

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Alan Baker

    This grant, to the University of Southern California’s (USC’s) School of Cinematic Arts, provides three years of renewed support for a series of activities aiming to support student engagement with science as a subject matter in their work and to spur the development and production of science and technology film, television, and new media projects by USC film students. Supported activities include a $25,000 production award, given annually to the best student film project that features science and technology as a theme; two $17,500 screenwriting awards, given annually to the best student film or television scripts featuring science and technology as a theme; a $17,500 animation award, given annually to the best student animation project featuring science and technology as a theme; an annual $12,500 grant given to the most innovative student interactive game design project featuring science or technology as a theme; and a yearly seminar that brings USC film students together with leading scientists to discuss the power and potential of science as a vehicle in narrative filmmaking. In addition, grant funds will support a host of related support activities, including faculty mentoring, industry events, and dedicated science advisors to ensure accuracy of scientific content in student projects.

    To support the development and production of science and technology films, television, and new media projects by top film students

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Los Angeles
    amount: $361,648
    city: Los Angeles, CA
    year: 2018

    To support the development and production of science and technology films, television, and new media projects by top film students

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Kathleen McHugh

    This grant provides three years of renewed support to the University of California Los Angeles, for a series of activities, programs, and initiatives designed to encourage UCLA film students to engage with scientific themes in their filmmaking and to produce science-themed films and screenplays. Funded activities include an annual colloquium that brings film students together with leading researchers to discuss the newest developments in science and technology; one annual, $30,000 production grant awarded to the best film project that incorporates scientific or technical themes; two annual $15,000 screenwriting awards given to the best student scripts incorporating scientific themes or featuring a scientist, engineer, or mathematician as a major character; one annual, $15,000 filmmaking grant for the best episodic television project that explores scientific or technical themes; and the development of a screenwriting course open exclusively to students who are working on a science-themed project. The course will help students explore both the challenges and opportunities of incorporating scientific themes into narrative film and television. In addition, this grant provides funds for dedicated scientific advisors to help students with their projects, independent judges to evaluate student submission, and faculty support and other operational costs associated with administration of program.  

    To support the development and production of science and technology films, television, and new media projects by top film students

    More
  • grantee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    amount: $557,359
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2018

    To support the growth of twelve new science festival initiatives in communities across the country with small resource bases with a special new emphasis on diversity

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program New Media
    • Investigator John Durant

    This grant provides funds to the Science Festival Alliance (SFA)—a network and incubator of science festivals across the country—to promote the development and expansion of 12 science festivals across the United States in communities with small resource bases and with a focus on promoting diversity. SFA will select and recruit four leading festivals; they will spend the first year experimenting with different approaches to improving diversity. Each lead festival would create a customized plan for engaging diverse audiences with measurable indicators for progress that would be evaluated after 12 months. This new knowledge would then be applied in selecting the 12 new partners—each lead festival is responsible for recruiting and mentoring three new festival partners in communities with small resource bases. The 12 selected festivals would be given modest $2,000 professional development grants and then be eligible for $10,000 challenge grants as they develop their own plans. Grant funds support these activities and associated administrative and operational costs.

    To support the growth of twelve new science festival initiatives in communities across the country with small resource bases with a special new emphasis on diversity

    More
  • grantee: New York Public Radio
    amount: $650,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2018

    To support story-driven health care reporting at WNYC, including coverage of health care policy and economics, medical science and discovery, and personal health

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Radio
    • Investigator Jim Schachter

    This grant supports the WNYC Health Unit’s ongoing coverage of health care policy, health economics, and the complexities and contradictions of the U.S. health care system. Over the three-year grant period, Sloan funds will help WNYC produce 45 to 50 broadcast segments each year on a range of health topics including the Affordable Care Act under the Trump administration, the opioid and obesity epidemics, and the gap in hospital billing between what hospitals charge and the real costs of care. Segments will be aired on several of NPR’s most popular radio programs, including Morning Edition, All Things Considered, The Takeaway, and the Brian Lehrer Show. In addition to these weekly segments, WNYC will produce two to three episodes of its Only Human podcast each year. The long-form serial podcast allows WYNC to take a deeper dive into complex health care issues, with a focus on extensive research, immersive storytelling, and rich characters. WNYC will also convene annual workshops, bringing together leading health care practitioners, economists, and policy experts to discuss the health care system and potential reforms. Last, grant funds will support a new radio drama, produced in collaboration with Radiolab, on the life and work of John Bonica, an anesthesiologist and a world champion wrestler also known as the “father of pain management.”

    To support story-driven health care reporting at WNYC, including coverage of health care policy and economics, medical science and discovery, and personal health

    More
  • grantee: Catticus Corporation
    amount: $600,000
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2018

    To produce Look Who’s Driving, a one-hour documentary about autonomous vehicle technology, to air on PBS’s NOVA

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Television
    • Investigator Michael Schwarz

    This grant to the Catticus Corporation provides support for the production and broadcast of a one-hour documentary special on driverless cars, “Look Who’s Driving,” that will explore both the promise and pitfalls as we move toward adoption of autonomous vehicles (AVs). In addition to explaining the major technological advances that have enabled progress in AVs—mapping, sensing, and artificial intelligence—the series will explore the engineering, legal, regulatory, security, privacy, and ethical challenges behind this much-ballyhooed potential revolution in transportation. The documentary will include interviews and commentary from leading technologists and engineers working on AVs, as well as scholars, historians, research scientists, and ordinary citizens. The show is slated to be broadcast on the PBS series, NOVA.

    To produce Look Who’s Driving, a one-hour documentary about autonomous vehicle technology, to air on PBS’s NOVA

    More
  • grantee: Consumer Reports
    amount: $342,079
    city: Yonkers, NY
    year: 2018

    To research consumer attitudes on digital privacy, convene experts and test technology platforms on their privacy practices, and educate consumers about digital privacy and security

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Investigator Justin Brookman

    Funds from this grant support efforts by Consumer Reports (CR) to provide consumers with the knowledge and tools they need to make more informed choices about their digital privacy. Supported activities include refining the Digital Standard, an evaluative framework used to objectively rank consumer products based on how well they perform on security architecture, data collection, and user control over his or her own data. CR will bring together academics, thought leaders, technical experts, and industry players to review and suggest improvements to the platform. It will draw on its Consumer Insights Panel, a web-based tool that interacts with 4,500 consumers to inform more effective messaging and education strategies. CR will then use the revised Digital Framework to evaluate major technology platforms such as Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Wikipedia. Finally, CR will publish its findings in a report to help inform future consumer choices and industry product development. The overall effort is designed to establish privacy as a core consumer value and to drive competition regarding who can do the best job protecting consumer privacy and individual ownership of data.

    To research consumer attitudes on digital privacy, convene experts and test technology platforms on their privacy practices, and educate consumers about digital privacy and security

    More
  • grantee: Carnegie Mellon University
    amount: $165,000
    city: Pittsburgh, PA
    year: 2018

    To analyze the challenges and opportunities associated with upgrading and transforming high voltage transmission lines as compared with siting new transmission infrastructure

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Granger Morgan

    This grant supports a study examining whether the upgrading of existing electricity transmission lines can obviate the need to build new transmission infrastructure corridors. Under the leadership of Principal Investigator Granger Morgan, the research team will study different transmission line upgrading options, including re-engineering existing transmission lines to improve their carrying capacity or switching from high-voltage alternating current (HVAC) lines to high-voltage direct current (HVDC) lines. Data will be collected from state public utility commissions about proposed or planned transmission line upgrades. This information will then be analyzed using an engineering model of the transmission system to understand which transmission line corridors might be best suited to upgrading or current conversion based on their technical and economic specifications.

    To analyze the challenges and opportunities associated with upgrading and transforming high voltage transmission lines as compared with siting new transmission infrastructure

    More
  • grantee: Harvard University
    amount: $559,435
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2018

    To examine the role of technology and knowledge spillovers in the development of novel clean energy technologies

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Venkatesh Narayanamurti

    Innovation in the energy sector often comes from unexpected places, utilizing research on problems or issues that are not directly energy related but that turn out to have application in the energy sector. Understanding these “knowledge spillovers,” as they are called, is critical to gaining a complete picture about how new energy technologies evolve over time. This grant funds a project led by Venkatesh Narayanamurti of Harvard University, Laura Diaz Anadon of the University of Cambridge, and Gabriel Chan of the University of Minnesota to investigate how knowledge spillovers contributed to three different low-carbon technologies—solar photovoltaics, lithium-ion batteries, and solid state lighting. The team will analyze patent data from the PATSTAT database to determine which innovations from other fields have led to significant advancements for the three aforementioned technologies. The researchers will then supplement this patent citation analysis with a bibliometric analysis of academic publications and with additional expert interviews and consultations. The team will then use existing engineering cost models to identify how various innovations from outside the energy sector contributed to cost reductions for each of the three technologies under study. In addition to academic research, the research team will prepare shorter commentaries and policy briefs aimed at informing policymakers and other nonspecialists about research results.

    To examine the role of technology and knowledge spillovers in the development of novel clean energy technologies

    More
  • grantee: Pecan Street, Inc.
    amount: $1,102,625
    city: Austin, TX
    year: 2018

    To improve researcher access to critical energy data by enhancing data resolution and granularity, diversifying data linkages, and expanding geographic scope of instrumented homes

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Suzanne Russo

    Pecan Street is an independent nonprofit organization that is a leading provider of high-resolution residential energy use data to the research community. Through its testbed of volunteer instrumented homes, Pecan Street is able to collect disaggregated circuit-level energy use information at 15-minute, 1-minute, and, increasingly, 1-second intervals. This unique data set is then provided free of charge to the academic community, helping facilitate research known as nonintrusive load monitoring (NILM), which allows scholars to disaggregate household-level energy use based on the unique power “signature” of each monitored appliance. Funds from this grant will allow Pecan Street to expand their data collection efforts through three interrelated projects. First, they will increase the number of homes within their existing test-bed in Austin, Texas that collect energy use data at 1-second intervals. Second, they will integrate additional data from Independent System Operators (or ISOs) around the country—information such as wholesale market pricing, forecasting, and generation information—that enriches the energy use data collected from the Pecan Street testbed. Third, Pecan Street will expand the number of instrumented homes in its network, adding in 100 additional homes in both upstate New York and the Bay Area of California.

    To improve researcher access to critical energy data by enhancing data resolution and granularity, diversifying data linkages, and expanding geographic scope of instrumented homes

    More
  • grantee: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    amount: $750,375
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2018

    To continue support for predoctoral research and training fellowships in energy economics

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Meredith Fowlie

    This grant renews funding for a set of predoctoral fellowships in energy economics. In each of the past three academic years, Meredith Fowlie (University of California, Berkeley) and Ryan Kellogg (University of Chicago) have led a committee that solicits applications and selects a number of young academics for these two-year predoctoral fellowships. Selected fellows are generally in the final two years of their doctoral program and are conducting one or more studies examining different dimensions of the energy system. Previous fellows have come from an array of universities, including the University of Tennessee; University of Wisconsin, Madison; University of California, San Diego; and Cornell University, among others. The announcement for predoctoral fellowship applications is shared widely within the economics community, and the selection committee has received approximately 20 high-quality applicants each year. Funds from this grant will fund an additional two cohorts of three fellows each. In addition to covering stipend and tuition coverage, a small amount of money is provided for purchasing necessary data and for travel to professional meetings.

    To continue support for predoctoral research and training fellowships in energy economics

    More
  • grantee: Johns Hopkins University
    amount: $450,000
    city: Baltimore, MD
    year: 2018

    To fund the Open Chemistry Collaborative in Diversity Equity (OXIDE) to advance diversity and inclusion, and reduce diversity inequities throughout the academic career ladder in chemistry departments nationwide

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Rigoberto Hernandez

    The OXIDE project, based at the Johns Hopkins University, aims to advance diversity and inclusion throughout the academic career ladder in chemistry. OXIDE collects data, disseminates it to the broad chemistry community, and holds department chairs accountable for their success or failure to promote diversity in their departments. This “top-down” strategy to promote change has been shown to be successful for industry. OXIDE’s accountability strategy is largely executed at NDEW, the National Diversity Equity Workshop, an intensive two-day meeting that has been held biennially by OXIDE since 2011. Funds from this grant will support two more NDEWs, in 2019 and 2021, and the annual publication and dissemination of data on diversity equity statistics in chemistry for four years. OXIDE’s target objectives for the project period include the participation of approximately 60 chemistry department chairs in the biennial NDEW, an increase in chairs’ proficiency in the value proposition for advancing diversity and addressing known barriers to diversity equity; an increase in departmental efforts that are managed by the chair that advance local diversity equity outcomes; and a transition in organizational funding from heavy reliance on grant support to substantial reliance on funds provided by the institutions of the participants.

    To fund the Open Chemistry Collaborative in Diversity Equity (OXIDE) to advance diversity and inclusion, and reduce diversity inequities throughout the academic career ladder in chemistry departments nationwide

    More
  • grantee: New York Academy of Sciences
    amount: $401,144
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2018

    To expand the developing pilot program, Science Alliance Leadership Training (SALT), to train 90 diverse, advanced doctoral students to lead institutional change through acquisition of strong entrepreneurial, interpersonal, and technical skills

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Stephanie Wortel-London

    Funds from this grant provide support for three years of continued operation of the New York Academy of Science’s Science Alliance Leadership Training (SALT) program. The program aims to provide leadership training to a yearly cohort of 30 early-career scientists drawn from members of the NYAS Science Alliance. Cohorts are intentionally selected to promote diversity and prior cohorts have included significant numbers of women and underrepresented minorities. Supported activities for each cohort include a five-day intensive workshop followed by monthly webinars for nine months to expand and reinforce leadership skills. Additional funds will support a longitudinal analysis of program participants to enable rigorous evaluation of program impacts.

    To expand the developing pilot program, Science Alliance Leadership Training (SALT), to train 90 diverse, advanced doctoral students to lead institutional change through acquisition of strong entrepreneurial, interpersonal, and technical skills

    More
  • grantee: University of Puerto Rico, Mayagьez
    amount: $498,065
    city: Mayagьez, PR
    year: 2018

    To enhance the research skills and productivity of Ph.D. candidates in 8 STEM fields at UPR-Mayagьez to compensate for campus damage during Hurricane Maria (2017)

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Rodolfo Romaсach

    In 2017, Hurricanes Irma and Maria hit Puerto Rico, devastating the island and disrupting most scientific research and education. Sloan responded by granting $4,000 to each of 35 chemical and chemical engineering graduate students at the University of Puerto Rico Mayagьez (UPRM) and Rio Piedras, allowing them to use the funds in whatever way they saw fit to best continue their educations. Disruptions continue, however, and this grant to the University of Puerto Rico provides enhanced funding to help doctoral STEM students continue their educations in the wake of Maria and Irma. Grant funds will allow 24 doctoral students to conduct research for four to six months at a collaborating mainland laboratory; support a lecture series at UPRM; and provide travel funds for faculty to attend scientific conferences and meetings and for graduate students to visit mainland campuses for supplementary mentoring, including practice job talks. Additional funds will support data collection and analysis that will allow evaluation of program impacts.

    To enhance the research skills and productivity of Ph.D. candidates in 8 STEM fields at UPR-Mayagьez to compensate for campus damage during Hurricane Maria (2017)

    More
  • grantee: University of Saskatchewan
    amount: $729,933
    city: Saskatoon, Canada
    year: 2018

    To examine photon fluxes, oxidants, and oxidant precursors in indoor environments

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Chemistry of Indoor Environments
    • Investigator Tara Kahan

    Funds from this grant support a project by Tara S. Kahan, Associate Professor of Chemistry at the University of Saskatchewan, in collaboration with Jianshun Zhang, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, at Syracuse University to examine indoor photon fluxes and determine concentrations, sources, and sinks of indoor oxidants and oxidant precursors. The project will combine laboratory, field, and chamber studies to better understand oxidizing capacity from emerging precursors in residences. Kahan will investigate the sources and sinks of indoor oxidants by measuring oxidant precursor concentrations in three residences, measuring indoor photon fluxes under a range of conditions, and determining oxidant concentrations via chamber experiments that simulate indoor conditions. The results will be shared through peer-reviewed publications in journals such as Environmental Sciences & Technology and Indoor Air. The team also plans to make presentations at conferences and meetings, including meetings of the International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate and the American Association for Aerosol Research. One postdoctoral scholar, three graduate students, and one undergraduate student will be trained on this project.

    To examine photon fluxes, oxidants, and oxidant precursors in indoor environments

    More
  • grantee: York University
    amount: $274,942
    city: Toronto, Canada
    year: 2018

    To develop analytical platforms for the detection of reactive nitrogen indoors

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Chemistry of Indoor Environments
    • Investigator Trevor VandenBoer

    Reactive nitrogen species—nitrous acid (HONO), ammonia (NH3), and amines (NR3)—are present indoors. These reactive nitrogen species are important because of the associated chemical and physical transformations. Outdoors, amines are implicated in particle formation. And HONO is photolabile, which means it decomposes in the presence of light, generating the important oxidant hydroxyl radical. Hydroxyl radicals can then rapidly react with volatile organic compounds, leading to secondary aerosol formation. Detecting concentrations of these chemicals is vital to answering key questions about the chemistry of indoor environments, such as “What is the role of ammonia and amines in indoor chemistry?” and “To what extent do they contribute to new particle formation?” This grant funds a team led by Trevor VandenBoer, Visiting Professor of Chemistry at York University, that aims to develop analytical platforms for the detection of reactive nitrogen indoors. The work plan has three parts. First, the team plans to develop new selective sampling methodologies for the passive collection of HONO, ammonia, and amines in indoor environments. Second, they plan to design and construct a real-time monitor for HONO and total reactive nitrogen that can discriminate between gas and particulate pools. Finally, they will validate the new methods both against traditional benchmarks and through deployment in various indoor environments. The team plans to share their findings through peer-reviewed articles and presentations at several scientific and professional conferences. One postdoctoral fellow, three graduate students, and numerous undergraduates will be trained in the course of the project.

    To develop analytical platforms for the detection of reactive nitrogen indoors

    More
  • grantee: Washington University in St. Louis
    amount: $298,758
    city: St. Louis, MO
    year: 2018

    To develop a chemically-resolved volatility and polarity separator for improved understanding of indoor air chemistry

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Chemistry of Indoor Environments
    • Investigator Brent Williams

    Funds from this grant support a team led by Brent Williams of Washington University in St. Louis to improve our ability to collect and analyze indoor air samples through the development of a chemically resolved volatility and polarity separator. The project aims to build and test a new field-deployable automated instrument for the simultaneous measurement of organic gas and particle chemical composition. The work plan has three parts. First, Williams and his team will develop a modified volatility and polarity separator capable of detailed chemical characterization of the particle phase and gas phase of airborne indoor organic material. Next they will demonstrate the strengths of the new measurement capacity through controlled laboratory studies and through an indoor field study. Last, they will develop an open-access volatility- and polarity-separated chemical profile database of indoor sources and transformations, along with open-access data analysis codes for use by the indoor air research community. Predicted outcomes of this project include the new instrument, the open access data base, and new knowledge about the composition of indoor air. The team plans to share their findings through multiple peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations on instrument development and through open-access chemical databases and analysis codes. One postdoctoral fellow and three graduate students will be trained.

    To develop a chemically-resolved volatility and polarity separator for improved understanding of indoor air chemistry

    More
  • grantee: Colorado State University
    amount: $253,684
    city: Fort Collins, CO
    year: 2018

    To develop and test software to identify isomers based on differences in binding energy using time-of-flight chemical ionization mass spectrometry

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Chemistry of Indoor Environments
    • Investigator Delphine Farmer

    Mass spectrometry is a technique that ionizes chemical species and then sorts them by mass. While useful, spectrometry does not distinguish between chemical isomers, species with the same number and types of atoms as another chemical species. This is important; isomers possess distinct properties because their atoms are arranged into different chemical structures. Isomers may differ, for instance, in reactivity, vapor pressure, and the identity of products. This grant will support work by Delphine Farmer, Associate Professor of Chemistry at Colorado State University, in collaboration with Ellison Carter, Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, to develop and test novel software for time-of-flight chemical ionization mass spectrometry that will allow researchers to identify isomers based on differences in binding energy. Funded work includes software development, calibration, and validation using both individual isomers and mixtures of isomers, and field testing in an unoccupied residence. The project will result in new software for both data acquisition and analysis, as well as field datasets, for sharing with the broader scientific community. The findings will be shared through publications from the instrument development component of the proposal, and additional publications when the instrument is used in an indoor study. The project will train at least one Ph.D. student in indoor chemistry and mass spectrometry instrument development.

    To develop and test software to identify isomers based on differences in binding energy using time-of-flight chemical ionization mass spectrometry

    More
  • grantee: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
    amount: $312,170
    city: Blacksburg, VA
    year: 2018

    To develop and test a field-deployable gas chromatograph coupled to a chemical ionization mass spectrometer, GC- CIMS, to identify isomers

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Chemistry of Indoor Environments
    • Investigator Gabriel Isaacman-VanWertz

    Funds from this grant support a team lead by Virginia Tech’s Gabriel Isaacman-VanWertz to improve our ability to detect chemical isomers indoors through the development of a field-deployable gas chromatograph coupled to a chemical ionization mass spectrometer. This proposed research is divided into three technical tasks: First, Issacman-VanWertz will engineer the physical and technical interface between the major instrument components. Then he will characterize and calibrate the new instrument. Finally, he will deploy the instrument in an on-campus controlled indoor environment to examine emissions. The team plans to share their findings through peer-reviewed articles and presentations at several scientific and professional conferences.

    To develop and test a field-deployable gas chromatograph coupled to a chemical ionization mass spectrometer, GC- CIMS, to identify isomers

    More
  • grantee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    amount: $299,424
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2018

    To develop a low-cost monitor for measurements of volatile organic compounds in the indoor environment

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Chemistry of Indoor Environments
    • Investigator Jesse Kroll

    Test bed studies require Chemistry of Indoor Environment researchers to be able to make important indoor chemistry measurements quickly and at low cost. Unfortunately, there are no good low-cost sensors for volatile organic compounds (VOCs). This grant funds an effort to build one. It’s an important effort. Many VOCs are harmful to human health and even those that aren’t can react with oxidants, eventually leading to new particle and aerosol formation. Over the next three years, Jesse Kroll—Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology—will attempt to develop a low-cost monitor for measurements of volatile organic compounds in the indoor environment. The work plan has two major parts: the construction, characterization, and optimization of the VOC monitor, and the use of several such monitors in real indoor environments, providing both a proof-of-concept and initial measurements of indoor VOC levels. The primary output of this project will be the monitor and associated algorithms as well as the associated research results. Descriptions of the optimized monitor design and calibration algorithms will be disseminated broadly via the peer-reviewed, open-access literature and conference presentations. At least one graduate student will be trained.  

    To develop a low-cost monitor for measurements of volatile organic compounds in the indoor environment

    More
  • grantee: Indiana University
    amount: $743,509
    city: Bloomington, IN
    year: 2018

    To examine radical concentrations and associated aerosol production in indoor environments

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Chemistry of Indoor Environments
    • Investigator Phillip Stevens

    Outdoors, strong ultraviolet light from the sun drives the photolysis of ozone, resulting in the production of hydroxyl (OH) radicals. Hydroxyl radicals, sometime referred to as “nature’s vacuum cleaner” are highly reactive and short lived. They can react with volatile organic compounds leading to the formation of peroxy radicals. These radicals, in turn, react rapidly with a range of compounds, eventually producing secondary organic aerosols in the atmosphere. Yet much is unknown. Despite the absence of the strong ultraviolet light that drives oxidation reactions outdoors, there is preliminary evidence that indoor environments contain hydroxyl radicals. The pathways that generate these radicals and the role they play in indoor chemistry are mysteries. Funds from this grant support an effort by Philip S. Stevens (Indiana University), in collaboration with Brandon Boor (Purdue University), to examine radical concentrations and associated aerosol production in indoor environments. The team aims to improve our understanding of oxidation chemistry in indoor environments through comprehensive measurements of radical concentrations, including their sources and sinks, as well as the impact of radical concentrations on aerosol production in several laboratories, chambers, and at least one residence. The results of the studies will be shared through peer-reviewed journals and through presentations at meetings of the International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate, the American Chemical Society, and the American Association for Aerosol Research. At least four students will be trained.

    To examine radical concentrations and associated aerosol production in indoor environments

    More
  • grantee: Columbia University
    amount: $299,998
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2018

    To examine hydrolysis reactions on damp surfaces and the impact on indoor air quality

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Chemistry of Indoor Environments
    • Investigator V. Faye McNeill

    Hydrolysis is a reaction in which water is used to break down chemical bonds. Preliminary evidence suggests hydrolysis reactions could be very important indoors, breaking down common man-made ester (MME) compounds like those found in PVC pipes, and diffusing the resulting degradation products into the air. This grant funds a project by V. Faye McNeill, Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at Columbia University, to assess the impact of hydrolysis reactions of a range of man-made esters—occurring on damp indoor surfaces—on indoor air quality. Grant funds will allow McNeill to adapt her outdoor atmospheric chemistry model, GAMMA (Gas-Aerosol Model for Mechanism Analysis), for application to the indoor environment. The adapted model, GAMMA-CIE, will introduce MME species, intermediates, and reaction products into the aqueous phase chemical mechanism, incorporate mass transfer between the aqueous and gas phases, and model oxidation in the gas phase. In addition to this modeling work, McNeill will perform laboratory measurements to provide missing data for the MME hydrolysis cascade under alkaline conditions and will examine the effect of acidic pH and ionic content of the aqueous film on MME hydrolysis kinetics. Among the MME compounds to be characterized are Texanol, a component of latex paints; TXIB (trimethyl pentanyl diisobutyrate); BBzP (benzyl butyl phthalate); and DEHA (diethylhydroxylamine). Last, McNeil will use the modified model to predict indoor air quality under typical domestic and commercial building scenarios. The model will simulate the fate of esters and the role of damp surfaces in realistic indoor conditions, providing new insights about indoor chemistry.

    To examine hydrolysis reactions on damp surfaces and the impact on indoor air quality

    More
  • grantee: Carnegie Institution of Washington
    amount: $1,648,920
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2018

    To support the Secretariat of the Deep Carbon Observatory to bring the program to effective closure and assure its legacies

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Robert Hazen

    This grant provides operational and administrative support to the governing secretariat of the Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO), headquartered at the Carnegie Institution for Science, which is charged with coordinating and synthesizing the work of DCO’s researchers, who number more than 1,300 and are spread across some 40 countries worldwide. Grant funds will offset operational costs of the international steering committee; provide support for the secretariat chairs, geoscientists Robert Hazen and Craig Manning; facilitate the DCO’s grand finale in Washington, D.C. in October 2019; and support several activities aimed at securing the legacies of the DCO at the conclusion of Foundation funding.

    To support the Secretariat of the Deep Carbon Observatory to bring the program to effective closure and assure its legacies

    More
  • grantee: Astrophysical Research Consortium
    amount: $530,000
    city: Seattle, WA
    year: 2018

    To continue support for the Faculty and Student Team (FAST) program within the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) that aims to increase the number of underrepresented minority students and faculty in the collaboration and increase the number of students pursuing astronomy Ph.D. programs

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Sloan Digital Sky Survey
    • Investigator Michael Blanton

    In 2015, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey established a Faculty and Student Team (FAST) program to improve on the low numbers of underrepresented minorities (URMs) both in the SDSS collaboration itself and in astronomy as a whole. The FAST program introduces clusters of faculty and students (mainly URMs) from non-SDSS-participating universities into the collaboration, usually with one faculty member supervising anywhere from one to three undergraduates or one graduate student. These faculty-student teams are then paired with mentors from the SDSS collaboration to help them become full members of the collaboration. To date, institutions sending FAST teams to SDSS include DePaul University, New Mexico State, University of California San Diego, Texas Tech, and two from City University of New York (Hunter College and Staten Island). Funds from this grant will allow the addition of three new FAST teams to the project, each completing a three-year term. Each FAST team faculty lead receives salary support for approximately one summer month in their first year of participation, and students on each team receive financial support through the entire period of FAST program participation. A dedicated SDSS FAST science liaison oversees the day-to-day operation of the program.

    To continue support for the Faculty and Student Team (FAST) program within the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) that aims to increase the number of underrepresented minority students and faculty in the collaboration and increase the number of students pursuing astronomy Ph.D. programs

    More
  • grantee: Fairfield University
    amount: $50,000
    city: Fairfield, CT
    year: 2018

    To support the research and writing of a book about the thalidomide scandal of the 1960s to be published by Random House in 2020

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Jennifer Vanderbes

    To support the research and writing of a book about the thalidomide scandal of the 1960s to be published by Random House in 2020

    More
  • grantee: Middlebury College
    amount: $45,522
    city: Middlebury, VT
    year: 2018

    To support the research and writing of an updated version of the 1993 Sloan-supported book Nuclear Choices: A Citizen’s Guide to Nuclear Technology to be published by MIT Press

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Richard Wolfson

    To support the research and writing of an updated version of the 1993 Sloan-supported book Nuclear Choices: A Citizen’s Guide to Nuclear Technology to be published by MIT Press

    More
  • grantee: Lydia Denworth
    amount: $19,000
    city: Brooklyn, NY
    year: 2018

    To support the research and writing of Friendship: A Natural History, to be published by W.W. Norton in 2019

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Lydia Denworth

    To support the research and writing of Friendship: A Natural History, to be published by W.W. Norton in 2019

    More
  • grantee: University of Texas, Austin
    amount: $50,000
    city: Austin, TX
    year: 2018

    To support the 2018 Energy Journalism Workshop in order to inform journalists covering energy and environmental issues of novel research findings

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Thomas Edgar

    To support the 2018 Energy Journalism Workshop in order to inform journalists covering energy and environmental issues of novel research findings

    More
  • grantee: University of Michigan
    amount: $10,000
    city: Ann Arbor, MI
    year: 2018

    To support participation of undergraduate and graduate students at the 2018 Transportation, Economics, Energy and the Environment (TE3) conference

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Ellen Hughes-Cromwick

    To support participation of undergraduate and graduate students at the 2018 Transportation, Economics, Energy and the Environment (TE3) conference

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Berkeley
    amount: $20,000
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2018

    To support a Summit for ~100 graduate students and 20-50 experienced researchers in economics from underrepresented groups to build tools and networks to support diversity, inclusion, and equity in the field

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Martha Olney

    To support a Summit for ~100 graduate students and 20-50 experienced researchers in economics from underrepresented groups to build tools and networks to support diversity, inclusion, and equity in the field

    More
  • grantee: Council on Foundations, Inc.
    amount: $25,000
    city: Arlington, VA
    year: 2018

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Phillip Blackmon

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    More
  • grantee: Rhizome
    amount: $19,800
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2018

    To help support a version of Wikibase that is easily deployed and used by institutions small and large, and to create a community of practice around Linked Data modeling

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Dragan Espenscheid

    To help support a version of Wikibase that is easily deployed and used by institutions small and large, and to create a community of practice around Linked Data modeling

    More
  • grantee: NumFOCUS
    amount: $20,000
    city: Austin, TX
    year: 2018

    To support travel to and attendance at JuliaCon2018 by underrepresented minorities in computing who are users of and contributors to the Julia programming language

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Jane Herriman

    To support travel to and attendance at JuliaCon2018 by underrepresented minorities in computing who are users of and contributors to the Julia programming language

    More
  • grantee: New York Academy of Sciences
    amount: $40,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2018

    To support a multidisciplinary symposium and panel on science denialism

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program New Media
    • Investigator Melanie Brickman Borchard

    To support a multidisciplinary symposium and panel on science denialism

    More
  • grantee: IEEE Foundation, Inc.
    amount: $125,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2018

    To support enhanced animation and graphics for a feature documentary about Claude Shannon, the father of information theory

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Richard Allen

    To support enhanced animation and graphics for a feature documentary about Claude Shannon, the father of information theory

    More
  • grantee: Community Initiatives
    amount: $19,500
    city: San Francisco, CA
    year: 2018

    To partially support the first CarpentryCon

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Tracy Teal

    To partially support the first CarpentryCon

    More
  • grantee: University of Zurich
    amount: $19,610
    city: Zurich, Switzerland
    year: 2018

    To encourage standardization of survey instruments in the domain of studies about people’s Internet uses to allow for more comparison and replication

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Eszter Hargittai

    To encourage standardization of survey instruments in the domain of studies about people’s Internet uses to allow for more comparison and replication

    More
  • grantee: NumFOCUS
    amount: $20,000
    city: Austin, TX
    year: 2018

    To support travel by students and junior faculty to a workshop focused on the development of scientific software using the R statistical computing language

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Karthik Ram

    To support travel by students and junior faculty to a workshop focused on the development of scientific software using the R statistical computing language

    More
  • grantee: FORCE11
    amount: $20,000
    city: San Diego, CA
    year: 2018

    To partially support the 2018 Future of Research Communication and eScholarship meeting

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Cameron Neylon

    To partially support the 2018 Future of Research Communication and eScholarship meeting

    More
  • grantee: Center for Strategic and International Studies
    amount: $124,475
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2018

    To support research and workshops in the Energy in America project to examine how energy impacts the United States economy at multiple levels and the changing role of energy development on job creation

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Sarah Ladislaw

    To support research and workshops in the Energy in America project to examine how energy impacts the United States economy at multiple levels and the changing role of energy development on job creation

    More
  • grantee: National Science Communication Institute
    amount: $20,000
    city: Seattle, WA
    year: 2018

    To support two regional meetings on the future of scholarly communication as well as the launch of the Research & Scholarly Communication Network

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Glenn Hampson

    To support two regional meetings on the future of scholarly communication as well as the launch of the Research & Scholarly Communication Network

    More
  • grantee: San Francisco State University
    amount: $124,833
    city: San Francisco, CA
    year: 2018

    To examine the effects of the Work Progress Administration (WPA) on long-term work, disability, and retirement outcomes

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Sepideh Modrek

    To examine the effects of the Work Progress Administration (WPA) on long-term work, disability, and retirement outcomes

    More
  • grantee: Research Foundation of CUNY o/b/o Advanced Science Research Center
    amount: $30,746
    city: New York
    year: 2018

    To support a workshop on nanoscale chemistry of indoor environments

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Chemistry of Indoor Environments
    • Investigator Rein Ulijn

    To support a workshop on nanoscale chemistry of indoor environments

    More
  • grantee: Foundation Center
    amount: $75,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2018

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Bradford Smith

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    More
  • grantee: The Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City
    amount: $56,384
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2018

    To increase the utility of NYC open data by enabling library and information professionals to improve the quality of data dictionaries

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Adrienne Schmoeker

    To increase the utility of NYC open data by enabling library and information professionals to improve the quality of data dictionaries

    More
  • grantee: United States Association for Energy Economics
    amount: $10,000
    city: Cleveland, OH
    year: 2018

    To support the participation of graduate students at the Ph.D. Day event at the 2018 USAEE North American conference in Washington, D.C.

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Sanya Carley

    To support the participation of graduate students at the Ph.D. Day event at the 2018 USAEE North American conference in Washington, D.C.

    More
  • grantee: College of William and Mary
    amount: $50,000
    city: Williamsburg, VA
    year: 2018

    To develop the indoor surface extractor/collector

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Chemistry of Indoor Environments
    • Investigator Rachel O'Brien

    To develop the indoor surface extractor/collector

    More
  • grantee: Stanford University
    amount: $125,000
    city: Stanford, CA
    year: 2018

    To advance the design and implementation of causal inference techniques other than randomization in public policy evaluation

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Margaret Levi

    To advance the design and implementation of causal inference techniques other than randomization in public policy evaluation

    More
  • grantee: New York University
    amount: $20,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2018

    To assess whether mandatory building energy audits in New York City contribute to meaningful reductions in building energy use

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Katrina Wyman

    To assess whether mandatory building energy audits in New York City contribute to meaningful reductions in building energy use

    More
  • grantee: National Press Foundation
    amount: $5,540
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2018

    To demonstrate how HOMEChem activities can be translated for a lay audience via journalism

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Chemistry of Indoor Environments
    • Investigator Sandy Johnson

    To demonstrate how HOMEChem activities can be translated for a lay audience via journalism

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Berkeley
    amount: $124,966
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2018

    To create a publicly accessible panel dataset of residential electric utility rates for all United States utilities to develop more refined electricity cost models

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Severin Borenstein

    To create a publicly accessible panel dataset of residential electric utility rates for all United States utilities to develop more refined electricity cost models

    More
  • grantee: University of Texas, Austin
    amount: $74,996
    city: Austin, TX
    year: 2018

    To support HOMEChem documentation as a basis for education and outreach activities

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Chemistry of Indoor Environments
    • Investigator Lea Hildebrandt Ruiz

    To support HOMEChem documentation as a basis for education and outreach activities

    More
  • grantee: Fractured Atlas
    amount: $30,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2018

    To support Kaimera Productions in an immersive installation performance that blends theater, music, dance, and multimedia, and invites audiences to question the ethics of data privacy

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program New Media
    • Investigator Lauren Lattimore

    To support Kaimera Productions in an immersive installation performance that blends theater, music, dance, and multimedia, and invites audiences to question the ethics of data privacy

    More
  • grantee: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    amount: $110,527
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2018

    To produce papers, conferences, and a book on how administrative and other big datasets can enhance the calculation of official federal statistics

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Katharine Abraham

    To produce papers, conferences, and a book on how administrative and other big datasets can enhance the calculation of official federal statistics

    More
  • grantee: Code for Science and Society
    amount: $123,240
    city: Portland, OR
    year: 2018

    To support community engagement and beta testing of Stencila Sheets

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Nokome Bentley

    To support community engagement and beta testing of Stencila Sheets

    More
  • grantee: The University of Chicago
    amount: $399,974
    city: Chicago, IL
    year: 2018

    To study the complementarity between prediction algorithms and human decision-making

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Jens Ludwig

    On the one hand, more and more decisions are being made based on what machines can learn about us: who gets a loan, who gets into college, who gets insurance, etc. On the other hand, people have many reservations about the fairness of algorithms, about algorithmic perpetuation of biases built into historical data, about the mis- or overinterpretation of statistical correlations, and more. This grant funds work by economists Jens Ludwig from the University of Chicago and Sendhil Mullainathan from Harvard to study when, why, and how people should override recommendations based on artificial intelligence. The team will focus on how New York City judges decide to release or hold suspects before trial. Machine generated recommendations—ones that use facts about a suspect to predict whether that subject will commit a crime if released back into the community—are already in use. But judges are also privy to information about a subject that a typical algorithm is not, including a suspect’s courtroom dress, demeanor, accompanying associates, etc. Ludwig and Mullainathan will study whether and how these additional factors affect both judicial predictions of suspect behavior as well as AI predictions of judicial behavior.

    To study the complementarity between prediction algorithms and human decision-making

    More
  • grantee: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    amount: $914,250
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2018

    To develop an active and diverse research community that studies the economics of artificial intelligence

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Avi Goldfarb

    This grant funds efforts by Avi Goldfarb, Joshua Gans, and Ajay Agrawal, three leading economists from the University of Toronto, and Catherine Tucker, Sloan Distinguished Professor of Management at MIT, to facilitate rigorous research on the economics of artificial intelligence (AI). Building on a successful conference on the economics of AI held in Toronto in 2017, the team plans to hold a series of three more annual conferences on related topics, commissioning papers for each conference, then publishing and disseminating the collected conference proceedings. Over three years, the team anticipates commissioning more than 50 academic papers. The team will also organize extensive training, support, and other services for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows interested in studying the economics of AI. The plan is to train more than 90 early-career researchers in advanced methodological and analytic techniques.

    To develop an active and diverse research community that studies the economics of artificial intelligence

    More
  • grantee: National Academy of Sciences
    amount: $241,190
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2018

    To report on how social and behavioral insights can improve the reliability and reproducibility of scientific findings

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Barbara Wanchisen

    This grant provides partial support to the National Academy of Sciences for a consensus report on how to use insights from the behavioral, social, and statistical sciences to improve the reliability and reproducibility of research. The project will include five committee meetings featuring various experts across the sciences, five commissioned papers on reproducibility, an expert panel on behavioral economics and the professional incentives facing producers and consumers of research, and a final consensus report. While the majority of the funding will be provided by NSF, this grant will provide supplementary support both for including economic perspectives in the study and for disseminating the final report.  

    To report on how social and behavioral insights can improve the reliability and reproducibility of scientific findings

    More
  • grantee: Brookings Institution
    amount: $993,178
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2018

    To organize, structure, and synthesize research on the measurement of productivity

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Louise Sheiner

    Between 1947 and 1973, U.S. productivity grew an average of nearly 3 percent per year. Since 2007, that rate has dropped to 1.3 percent. Since 2010, it has plummeted to 0.5 percent. China and India excepted, other countries around the world have experienced similar drops in productivity growth. Why? What is going on? This grant funds a project by a team led by Louise Sheiner at the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at the Brookings Institution to shed light on this “productivity puzzle.” Over the next two years, Brookings will conduct and commission original and rigorous research on productivity, engage with stakeholders at U.S. statistical agencies about the quality and limitations of existing productivity measurements, produce 10 to 12 peer reviewed papers, hold six conferences on this and related issues, produce a conference volume, and disseminate recommendations on how to improve research and statistics about economic productivity.

    To organize, structure, and synthesize research on the measurement of productivity

    More
  • grantee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    amount: $1,043,399
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2018

    To produce a comprehensive, multidisciplinary Future of Storage study that will consider the role key storage technologies might play in electricity systems over different time scales and service requirements

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Robert Armstrong

    This grant provides partial support for a new report, The Future of Storage, which will bring together scientific, engineering, economic, and policy perspectives to describe the current state and future potential of technologies to store electricity and the differing roles these technologies might play in the evolving energy sector. Part of MIT’s well-regarded “Future of” series, the project will assemble a panel of top scholars from mechanical engineering, energy systems analysis, and economics to address a host of policy-relevant questions about electricity storage. Questions to be addressed by the study include what role storage might play in electricity systems over the near term (by 2030), midterm (by 2040), and long term (by 2050, and beyond); which storage technologies have the greatest potential for application over various time scales and service requirements; and what public policy, technology development, and market factors most influence the future of electricity storage. Grant funds will provide approximately one-third of the total study cost. 

    To produce a comprehensive, multidisciplinary Future of Storage study that will consider the role key storage technologies might play in electricity systems over different time scales and service requirements

    More
  • grantee: The University of Chicago
    amount: $605,281
    city: Chicago, IL
    year: 2018

    To support the training of early career scholars in developing a more detailed, granular approach to estimating damage functions that can contribute to providing more transparent estimates of the social cost of carbon

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Michael Greenstone

    The social cost of carbon (SCC) is defined as the cost to society in dollars of releasing the equivalent of one ton of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The SCC is a key input measure to almost every legally required cost-benefit analysis of energy and environmental regulation. To properly quantify the SCC researchers need to improve the estimation of damage functions, the models that lay out how climate changes affect the economy. The Climate Impact Lab (CIL) at the University of Chicago, partnering with scientists at the University of California, Berkeley and Rutgers University, is developing the next generation of climate-economic damage functions. The new functions are orders of magnitude more advanced than existing integrated assessment models, providing a spatially detailed, granular set of damage functions for over 25,000 regions globally. Grant funds will support development of the CIL model, its computing infrastructure, and salary support for one postdoctoral and two predoctoral fellows participating in the project.

    To support the training of early career scholars in developing a more detailed, granular approach to estimating damage functions that can contribute to providing more transparent estimates of the social cost of carbon

    More
  • grantee: Resources for the Future, Inc.
    amount: $203,083
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2018

    To organize a Sloan Energy Conference that integrates research results across the energy system and disseminates findings to practitioners

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Richard Newell

    This grant provides support to the Washington D.C.–based nonpartisan think tank Resources for the Future (RFF) to organize and host a conference that brings together researchers, policymakers, and various stakeholders to discuss the state of academic research about the economic, environmental, security, and policy trade-offs associated with the increased deployment of low- and no-carbon resources and technologies and to share research findings and insights on these issues developed by researchers funded through the Sloan Foundation’s Energy and Environment program. The conference will take place in late fall 2018, with nearly 100 participants drawn from academic, government, industry, and nonprofit sectors and will be structured as a series of research panels focused on topics such as energy efficiency, transportation, and transmission and distribution, which have become core areas of concentration within the Sloan Energy and Environment program. Additional thematic panels will be interspersed that advance methodological perspectives such as analyzing large-scale data sets and highlighting best practices to integrate research into decision-making. There will also be a dedicated session for students to present their work, along with a number of networking opportunities allowing participants to interact informally with one another. In addition to organizing and hosting the conference, RFF plans to record the event and potentially live-stream it. 

    To organize a Sloan Energy Conference that integrates research results across the energy system and disseminates findings to practitioners

    More
  • grantee: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    amount: $432,372
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2018

    To develop new dissemination channels for rigorous, nonpartisan research in environmental and energy economics through a new forums for research presentation and publication

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Matthew Kotchen

    Funds from this grant support efforts by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) to organize a series of conferences that would each showcase six papers by leading academic energy researchers that have been written for policy audiences and that are designed to address policy questions about energy or environmental policy. The conferences, held annually, will aim to strengthen relationships between academic energy researchers and their counterparts in the policy realm, with around 100 participants expected to attend each year. Following each conference, papers will be revised and published in an annual volume titled Environmental and Energy Policy and the Economy. In keeping with standard NBER practice, no explicit policy recommendations will be made by research published in this project. Grant funds will support the hosting of the annual conference and publication of the associated research volume for the next three years.

    To develop new dissemination channels for rigorous, nonpartisan research in environmental and energy economics through a new forums for research presentation and publication

    More
  • grantee: Resources for the Future, Inc.
    amount: $496,951
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2018

    To continue a postdoctoral researcher program that will train the next generation of scholars in energy and environmental economics and policy analysis

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Kristin Hayes

    Funds from this grant continue support for postdoctoral researchers studying energy, natural resource, and environmental economics at the Washington D.C.–based nonpartisan think tank Resources for the Future (RFF). Grant funds will support one, two-year postdoctoral researcher position in each of the next two years, and RFF will raise matching funds to support a second postdoctoral fellow each year. The RFF program has several important strengths. First, supported postdoctoral researchers will split their time between defined projects and independent research, allowing them the opportunity to build a strong list of publications that is vital to securing a longer-term university or other research position. Second, postdoctoral researchers will have the opportunity to build and expand their professional networks in policy, academic, and private sector circles, providing them with a broader range of subsequent career opportunities. Third, researchers will be trained in valuable skills like grant writing, public speaking, presenting material to policy audiences, and event organization, all of which will be critical for advancement in their careers. Fourth, RFF will draw on a deep roster of senior in-house scholars and its extended network of affiliated university faculty to provide job placement services and career guidance. To date, the placement record for postdoctoral researchers in this program has been strong. Fifth, there are no other federally or philanthropically funded energy and environmental economics postdoctoral researcher positions of this kind, making the RFF program unique in the field. 

    To continue a postdoctoral researcher program that will train the next generation of scholars in energy and environmental economics and policy analysis

    More
  • grantee: Environmental Law Institute
    amount: $550,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2018

    To generate novel, multi-disciplinary research to increase understanding of the energy and environmental impacts of the digital economy, with a focus on sharing platforms, artificial intelligence, and blockchain technologies

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator David Rejeski

    There is substantial interest within the research community in studying the energy and environmental implications of the development and spread of new technologies. These technologies include digital sharing platforms like Uber and Airbnb, artificial intelligence and robotics, and distributed ledgers like Bitcoin. Questions abound. How might the use of autonomous vehicles for ride sharing affect vehicle miles traveled? What approaches might mediate the impact of blockchain energy use? Can digital ledger systems be used to track pollution effectively? This grant supports efforts by David Rejeski of the Environmental Law Institute to build a multidisciplinary research community of scholars interested in studying these topics. Funds will support 8 to 10 small research projects to study questions about the environmental and energy impacts of new technologies. Projects will be selected by an independent expert review panel through an open solicitation process. In addition to direct research support, this grant provides funds to hold two workshops—one at the project’s outset and the other at its conclusion—to bring the selected researchers together to share information about research methodologies, data sources, and potential challenges. It also funds the creation of a website to serve as a resource that will include informational bibliographies, publicly available data sources, and final research outputs.

    To generate novel, multi-disciplinary research to increase understanding of the energy and environmental impacts of the digital economy, with a focus on sharing platforms, artificial intelligence, and blockchain technologies

    More
  • grantee: National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, Inc.
    amount: $2,870,643
    city: White Plains, NY
    year: 2018

    To support the Alfred P. Sloan Minority Ph.D. Program (MPHD) through Phase 3 renewal grants for University Centers of Exemplary Mentoring (UCEMs) at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of California, San Diego and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Christopher Smith

    This grant to the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering funds three-year renewals for the University Centers of Exemplary Mentoring (UCEM) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); University of California, San Diego; and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. UCEMs are the primary funding model for the Sloan Foundation’s Minority Ph.D. (MPHD) program. NACME provides the administrative and fiscal support for management of all Sloan funding for UCEMs. Funds granted to each UCEM are used primarily for $40,000 scholarships for underrepresented minority doctoral students. Between the three schools, an estimated 61 students will receive such scholarships over the next three years, with a similar number of “matching” students receiving support from each UCEM’s host institution. Additional grant funds support programmatic expenses associated with the recruitment, retention, and mentoring of these students and activities to promote their successful completion of graduate study.

    To support the Alfred P. Sloan Minority Ph.D. Program (MPHD) through Phase 3 renewal grants for University Centers of Exemplary Mentoring (UCEMs) at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of California, San Diego and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

    More
  • grantee: Tribeca Film Institute
    amount: $261,636
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2018

    To support the Sloan Student Grand Jury Prize for the annual selection and development of the best-of-the-best screenplay from Sloan’s six film school partners and to pilot a new Sloan Discovery Award selected from six new non-Sloan film school screenplays with S&T themes

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Molly O'Keefe

    Funds from this grant provide two years of support for the continued administration of the Sloan Student Grand Jury Prize, which honors the best science- or technology-themed feature film script produced by a student at one of the Foundation’s six participating film school partners: American Film Institute, Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, NYU Tisch, UCLA, and USC. Each participating school submits one script for consideration each year, and nominated screenwriters are then paired with a dedicated mentor to help improve their submissions with an eye toward shepherding the script to production. An independent panel of distinguished filmmakers and scientists then selects the winning script, whose screenwriter or writers receive a $20,000 prize and a cocktail reception in their honor. They also receive support for an industry mentor to guide the project, a committed science advisor, other marketing and distribution efforts, and two professional development workshops to further develop the project.   Additional grant funds will support the pilot creation of a new $10,000 prize for the best science- or technology-themed feature film script submitted by film students drawn from one of six schools outside the Foundation’s existing group of film school partners. Schools invited to compete for this new “Sloan Discovery Prize” include Brooklyn College Feirstein School of Cinema, SUNY Purchase School of Film and Media Studies, Florida State University, San Francisco State University, University of North Carolina School of the Arts, and the University of Texas, Austin.

    To support the Sloan Student Grand Jury Prize for the annual selection and development of the best-of-the-best screenplay from Sloan’s six film school partners and to pilot a new Sloan Discovery Award selected from six new non-Sloan film school screenplays with S&T themes

    More
  • grantee: Mathematical Sciences Research Institute
    amount: $500,000
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2018

    To support the 2019 and 2021 National Math Festivals, events that increase the appreciation for mathematics and mathematical research through the arts, engaging lectures, and interactive activities

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program New Media
    • Investigator David Eisenbud

    This grant provides operational and administrative support for the National Math Festival, a biannual celebration of mathematics and mathematics research held in Washington, D.C. The festival, which drew crowds in excess of 20,000 people in both 2015 and 2017, features publicly accessible lectures on mathematics, interactive exhibits about mathematical concepts, and demonstrations for adults and children of the beauty of mathematical patterns and their prevalence in virtually every facet of life. Grant funds will support production of the National Math Festival in 2019 and 2021, the fielding and analysis of attendee surveys to improve the festival’s offerings, production of a documentary about the festival, and expanded outreach through the web and social media.

    To support the 2019 and 2021 National Math Festivals, events that increase the appreciation for mathematics and mathematical research through the arts, engaging lectures, and interactive activities

    More
  • grantee: Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association Inc.
    amount: $1,035,000
    city: Arlington, VA
    year: 2018

    To continue weekly broadcast of Paul Solman's economic and business coverage Making Sen$e on PBS NewsHour and to support online, social and mobile platforms with related content and to support an evaluation

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Television
    • Investigator Lee Koromvokis

    This grant provides one year of support to the PBS NewsHour to continue its regular broadcast of Making Sen$e with Paul Solman, a weekly segment that explains business and economic issues clearly and engagingly to a general audience both on air and online. Grant funds support the production of 50 7-to-10-minute Making Sen$e broadcast segments on major issues facing the American and global economy, such as tax policy, health insurance, immigration, and the gig economy. Additional grant funds support increased outreach and development of the Making Sen$e website and social media presence, and the production of hundreds of original pieces of web native content, including long-form think pieces written by economists or based on Paul Solman's interviews with economists.

    To continue weekly broadcast of Paul Solman's economic and business coverage Making Sen$e on PBS NewsHour and to support online, social and mobile platforms with related content and to support an evaluation

    More
  • grantee: University of York
    amount: $254,546
    city: York, United Kingdom
    year: 2018

    To develop an open source model for investigating indoor gas-phase chemistry and expand science communications about indoor chemistry

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Chemistry of Indoor Environments
    • Investigator Nicola Carslaw

    Modeling is essential to the development of indoor chemistry as a field. Comprehensive, integrated physical-chemical models that include a realistic representation of how buildings influence indoor processes are needed to assess gaps in our understanding, to improve experimental design, to generate hypotheses for investigation, to guide measurements, and to indicate key species to quantify and the detection limits required for quantification. The MOdelling Consortium for Chemistry of Indoor Environments (MOCCIE) consists of six teams of investigators with expertise and models in six different areas: kinetic process modeling, gas-phase chemistry modeling, molecular dynamics simulations, modeling of indoor secondary organic aerosols and organic aerosols, computational fluid dynamics modeling, and modeling surface interactions and the role of clothing and textiles. MOCCIE has determined that the best way to ensure reproducible indoor chemical science would be to strive to construct a fully integrated open source model. This requires converting each of the six existing MOCCIE models into an open source format. Funds from this grant would support a project to convert Nicola Carslaw’s gas phase chemistry model into a fully open source platform using the Python programming language. Additional funds support the construction of a new user-friendly interface to facilitate the model’s use and production of supporting documentation.   In addition to the modeling work, Carslaw will work to expand science communications about indoor chemistry by engaging a U.K.-based freelance science journalist, Nina Notman. Notman will attend indoor chemistry events and conferences, and give a plenary on science communication at the 2018 Indoor Air Conference.

    To develop an open source model for investigating indoor gas-phase chemistry and expand science communications about indoor chemistry

    More
  • grantee: University of Cambridge
    amount: $149,130
    city: Cambridge, United Kingdom
    year: 2018

    To provide strategic vision and leadership of the Deep Carbon Observatory Synthesis Group for the 2019 program finale

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Marie Edmonds

    Funds from this grant provide 21 months of support for the continued operation of the Deep Carbon Observatory’s Synthesis Group 2019 (SG 2019). Led by University of Cambridge geologist Marie Edmonds, SG 2019 is tasked with overseeing and managing the synthesis of the intellectual output of the DCO, bringing together into a coherent whole the diverse observations, insights, models, and datasets generated over the past 10 years by hundreds of DCO scientists across the globe. Funded activities include the writing of a decadal report summarizing the DCO’s scientific and technical accomplishments; the planning and execution of several culminating events in 2019; the production of infographics, videos, and educational materials based on DCO insights; and the production of several synthesis papers for publication in high-value journals like Nature and American Mineralogist. Grant funds will provide administrative and travel support to Edmonds, allowing her to work closely and effectively with DCO leadership in the United States and around the world.

    To provide strategic vision and leadership of the Deep Carbon Observatory Synthesis Group for the 2019 program finale

    More
  • grantee: University of Rhode Island
    amount: $899,795
    city: Kingston, RI
    year: 2018

    To support Engagement: The Deep Carbon Observatory’s Road to 2019

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Robert Pockalny

    The core work of the Deep Carbon Observatory’s engagement team, headquartered at the University of Rhode Island (URI), consists of community building and management. The team writes the DCO’s newsletter, maintains a contact database of DCO-affiliated scientists, produces the DCO bibliography, handles educational and outreach partnerships with entities such as National Geographic and the Smithsonian, updates articles about the DCO and deep carbon science in Wikipedia, and conducts all media relations. As the DCO moves toward its planned conclusion in 2019, the engagement team will have additional responsibilities associated with the synthesis of DCO research and the effective communication of its import to the wider scientific community and the public. This grant continues operational support for the DCO’s engagement team for 21 months.

    To support Engagement: The Deep Carbon Observatory’s Road to 2019

    More
  • grantee: Boston College
    amount: $249,626
    city: Chestnut Hill, MA
    year: 2018

    To produce research and inform policy-makers about the role that non-traditional jobs play for older workers

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Alicia Munnell

    This grant will support four integrated research projects on the role played by nontraditional work arrangements—defined as jobs that lack benefits and that have significant wage and hour volatility—in the labor market decisions of older workers. Led by Alicia Munnell, director of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, three of the projects focus on workers in their 50s and early 60s who may consider themselves too young to retire. The first project examines the extent to which the apparent rise in nontraditional employment for older individuals reflects the loss of traditional jobs to globalization and automation. The goal is to learn how the spread of these pressures to more industries could increase nontraditional work. To the extent that more older workers hold nontraditional jobs, the second project explores how these jobs are part of late-career employment patterns. Do these workers move back into traditional employment, for example—and, if so, after how long—and how often and for how long do they stay in nontraditional work for the remainder of their careers. The third project addresses the question of whether older nontraditional workers obtain access to retirement savings vehicles and health insurance through other sources, such as their spouses, public programs, or their own initiative. The fourth project focuses on an older group of workers—those in their 60s who are old enough to retire but are still working—and examines the extent to which nontraditional jobs help these workers improve their retirement security relative to retiring early.

    To produce research and inform policy-makers about the role that non-traditional jobs play for older workers

    More
  • grantee: Harvard University
    amount: $421,285
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2018

    To renew an interdisciplinary, postdoctoral training program called the “Sloan Fellowship on Aging and Work” that addresses the challenges of aging societies and labor force participation

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Lisa Berkman

    Funds from this grant provide four years of continued support for a multidisciplinary postdoctoral fellowship program at the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies (HCPDS) at Harvard’s School of Public Health. The Harvard fellowship program is designed to provide opportunities for seminars, mentorships, and speakers, with the goal of catalyzing a Cambridge-based research community for scholars of aging and work that will become part of the growing community of researchers focused on the intersection of aging and work. Grant funds will provide stipend support for two two-year fellowships along with subsidiary funds to support the fellows’ travel and research needs.

    To renew an interdisciplinary, postdoctoral training program called the “Sloan Fellowship on Aging and Work” that addresses the challenges of aging societies and labor force participation

    More
  • grantee: University of Maryland, College Park
    amount: $499,637
    city: College Park, MD
    year: 2018

    To inform the design of questions to learn about alternative work arrangements among the population age 50 plus and provide new evidence on the role of these arrangements in older adults’ work lives

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Katharine Abraham

    This grant funds work by Katharine Abraham and John Haltiwanger of the University of Maryland and Susan Houseman of the Upjohn Institute to bring greater precision to our understanding of how to define and count the “alternative workforce,” and to gain deeper understanding of the roles the different types of alternative work arrangements play in older workers’ lives. Partnering with Gallup, Abraham and her team will field a nationally representative telephone survey of adults aged 18 to 80, asking them about their nontraditional work arrangements. The team will then create a new dataset by linking survey responses with administrative data from tax filings and household surveys. The new dataset will allow the team to probe how alternative work arrangements fit into the labor market behavior of older workers. Questions of interest include whether and to what extent alternative work arrangements are used during periods of traditional unemployment; whether they are a prelude to re-entry into the traditional workforce; the extent to which they are used to supplement retirement income, to offset the risk of 401(k)s, or to balance elder care responsibilities with the need to earn money; and what role the social aspects of work and its capacity to help structure one’s days play in the decision to take up an alternative work arrangement. These questions beg a more fundamental one: are these arrangements positive choices or options of last resort for older Americans? The created dataset will be made publicly available for use by other researchers and the project team expects the project to produce at least two peer reviewed papers, as well as a series of policy briefs and presentations aimed at both scholars and policymakers.

    To inform the design of questions to learn about alternative work arrangements among the population age 50 plus and provide new evidence on the role of these arrangements in older adults’ work lives

    More
  • grantee: University of Vermont
    amount: $683,273
    city: Burlington, VT
    year: 2018

    To lower barriers to large-scale research computing through the development of a distributed, volunteer, in-browser system for elastic computing resources

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Josh Bongard

    Distributed volunteer computing has not changed substantially since the late 1990s when the SETI@Home project offered a downloadable screensaver that used spare PC computing cycles to analyze radio astronomy data, and thereby allowed hundreds of thousands of citizens to participate in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Computer scientist Josh Bongard at the University of Vermont proposes to bring that idea of volunteer computing into the internet era by building a volunteer computing platform that lives in the web browser, allowing users who visit a special webpage to contribute computing capacity and/or disk storage to computational researchers. This grant will provide three years of support to Bongard and his team for the initial build out and deployment of the platform, which could complement or provide an alternative to local supercomputing facilities and cloud services from companies like Amazon or Microsoft.

    To lower barriers to large-scale research computing through the development of a distributed, volunteer, in-browser system for elastic computing resources

    More
  • grantee: WNET
    amount: $750,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2018

    To support a three-part television series broadcast and accompanying outreach on the engineering and technology of LaGuardia Airport, with a focus on the current new terminal project

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Television
    • Investigator Stephen Segaller

    This grant to WNET, New York’s PBS station, in partnership with Windfall Films, supports the production and broadcast of a three-hour series about one of America’s biggest infrastructure projects: the rebuilding of LaGuardia airport, which is currently underway and slated for completion in 2021. Episode One: A Grand Terminal will focus on the state-of-the-art, 1.3-million-square-foot terminal itself, including its history and an overview of terminal design. Episode Two: Runways and Highways will cover building the runway space that surrounds the terminal, including flood-proofing the new taxiways—LaGuardia is surrounded on three sides by water—and preparing for environmental threats such as climate change and hurricanes. Episode Three: Bridges, Belts, and Baggage will explore the construction of two skybridges to get passengers from the new terminal to the 35 boarding gates as well as upgraded systems for moving baggage and passengers. The series will discuss a host of topics in science and engineering, including new construction techniques and machinery, the logistics of urban planning, impacts on local communities and the environment, tailoring runways to limit noise pollution, advanced radar technology to detect runway debris, and the use of swarm modeling mathematics to efficiently guide passengers and avoid congestion. In addition to primetime broadcast, grant funds support the production and dissemination of complementary educational resources through PBS Learning Media, and outreach through social and other media. 

    To support a three-part television series broadcast and accompanying outreach on the engineering and technology of LaGuardia Airport, with a focus on the current new terminal project

    More
  • grantee: Fund for the City of New York
    amount: $810,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2018

    To provide partial support for the Sloan Public Service Awards program

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Mary McCormick

    Each year since 1973, the Sloan Public Service Awards have recognized six outstanding civil servants out of the hundreds of thousands who work for New York City government. The Fund for the City of New York manages the nomination and selection process and refers to the awards as “the Nobel Prizes of Government…, the highest award that can be bestowed upon a New York City public servant.” Nominated by their colleagues and selected by a blue-ribbon panel of distinguished New Yorkers, each of the six winners receives a $10,000 cash prize and is honored at individual celebrations at their workplaces and at a citywide celebration at the Cooper Union. This grant continues the Foundation’s long support of the Sloan Public Service Awards with funding for an additional three years.

    To provide partial support for the Sloan Public Service Awards program

    More
  • grantee: University of Nebraska, Omaha
    amount: $449,423
    city: Omaha, NE
    year: 2018

    To advance understanding of open source project health and sustainability and how people and organizations prosper from open source work

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Matt Germonprez

    This grant supports research by information scientists Matt Germonprez (University of Nebraska) and Sean Goggins (University of Missouri) to develop and test rubrics for the evaluation of the health of online, open source development communities. Building on previous work that resulted in the successful Community Health Analytics for Open Source Software (CHAOSS) project and using a rich dataset drawn from GitHub and other sources, Germonprez and Goggins will investigate how definitions of the health of an online community might rightly vary depending on the type of community in question or type of project being jointly developed, how the injection of money into an online development community influences individual contributor behavior, and how individual decisions by contributors impact overall community health.

    To advance understanding of open source project health and sustainability and how people and organizations prosper from open source work

    More
  • grantee: University of Minnesota
    amount: $526,438
    city: Minneapolis, MN
    year: 2018

    To launch and expand a cross-institutional staffing model for curating disciplinary research data

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Lisa Johnston

    One crucial component of the current and future data workforce is the data curators who steward and curate research data in the interests of reproducibility and reuse. Academic libraries seeking to increase data curation support face a structural problem, however: it’s simply not possible to hire an expert data curator for every discipline. From 2016 to 2018, seed funding from the Sloan Foundation was used to plan a network that could facilitate the sharing of disciplinary data curation expertise across a cohort of partner universities. Funds from this grant support the launch and expansion of this Data Curation Network over the next three years. Initial participating institutions include Cornell; Duke; Johns Hopkins; Penn State; and the universities of Minnesota, Michigan, and Illinois at Urbana Champaign. The grant will support a modest amount of each participating data curator’s time, a network coordinator to be based at the University of Minnesota under the supervision of principal investigator Lisa Johnston, annual meetings of the network, and a business consultant to test business models and plan for sustainability beyond the funded launch period.

    To launch and expand a cross-institutional staffing model for curating disciplinary research data

    More
  • grantee: University of Pittsburgh
    amount: $582,852
    city: Pittsburgh, PA
    year: 2018

    To develop software and services for transforming mathematical results as they appear in journal article abstracts into formally structured data that machines can read, process, search, check, compute with, and learn from as logical statements

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Thomas Hales

    Computers do nothing but process logical statements. Mathematics consists of nothing but such statements. It would be reasonable to assume, then, that computers would be adept, perhaps uniquely, at reading, understanding, and cataloging the academic literature of mathematics. Not yet. People and machines, it turns out, speak different mathematical languages. If computers are to help manage mathematical knowledge, they need to be taught how to read math papers. The grant funds efforts by mathematician Thomas Hales to begin that instruction. Hales has raised an international army of graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, which he plans to unleash on the abstracts of thousands of mathematical papers. They will carefully translate the definitions and results that appear in these abstracts into formal programming language. These formalized abstracts—“fabstracts,” for short—can then be used to train machine learning algorithms to “read” textual mathematics.   

    To develop software and services for transforming mathematical results as they appear in journal article abstracts into formally structured data that machines can read, process, search, check, compute with, and learn from as logical statements

    More
  • grantee: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    amount: $241,690
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2018

    To build a research community on the economics of science by holding regular conferences and by other community-building activities

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Economic Analysis of Science and Technology (EAST)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Paula Stephan

    This grant supports the launch and operation of a new working group at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) dedicated to studying the “economics of science.” Led by Paula Stephan, the group will bring together top flight economists to share existing work and findings, identify new areas for research, examine methodological and data issues, and commission new research. Topics include incentives in the current system, how the structure of grants and review systems affects scientific risk taking, the costs and efficiencies of different research funding models, how to judge scientific quality, and how to measure return on investment in basic and applied science. Along with four meetings of the working group, the grant will fund administrative and planning costs, support for small research grants, and partnerships between the working group and institutions like research universities or other science funders.

    To build a research community on the economics of science by holding regular conferences and by other community-building activities

    More
  • grantee: Duke University
    amount: $385,631
    city: Durham, NC
    year: 2018

    To launch an international summer school on Computational Social Science

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Christopher Bail

    This grant supports the expansion of a popular seminar on computational social science, run by Matthew Salganik of Princeton University and Christopher Bail of Duke University. The instructional program, which takes place over the summer, involves lectures, group problem sets, and participant-led research projects. The seminar also includes outside speakers who conduct computational social science research in academia, industry, and government. Topics covered include text as data, website scraping, digital field experiments, nonprobability sampling, mass collaboration, and ethics. Interest in the program has been robust, with more than 10 times as many applicants as available slots each year. Sloan funds will allow lectures and course content to be broadcast via interactive video to six new satellite locations, including City University of New York; Northwestern; University of Colorado, Boulder; Seattle; Helsinki; and Cape Town. Additional satellite sites may be added in future years.

    To launch an international summer school on Computational Social Science

    More
  • grantee: Harvard University
    amount: $327,033
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2018

    To develop new statistical methods that improve both the identification of causal effects in observational studies as well as the generalizability of randomized experiments

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Jose Zubizarreta

    Harvard econometrician Jose Zubizarreta is developing new statistical methods for the extraction of causal inferences from large datasets. His methods flexibly adjust for covariates in observational studies while also yielding more stable causal estimates. For part of the research, Zubizarreta will investigate formal and theoretical properties of these methods. His team, however, based as it is at a medical school, will also work on specific applications. These require, for example, developing a new framework for the design and analysis of observational studies with discontinuities, or developing new methods that improve the degree of control (covariate balance) and statistical efficiency of randomized experiments that enhance their generalizability. Zubizarreta plans to produce five peer-reviewed papers on these topics. In addition, all software, code, and examples will be produced in an open source programming language and made freely available, together with documentation and sample data, to the academic community and the public.

    To develop new statistical methods that improve both the identification of causal effects in observational studies as well as the generalizability of randomized experiments

    More
  • grantee: National Academy of Sciences
    amount: $250,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2018

    To convene an international workshop that will plan global cooperation and coordination concerning Artificial Intelligence research and its applications

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Gail Cohen

    This grant funds an initiative by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to join with peer institutions from around the world to launch international dialogue about policies governing artificial intelligence (AI) and automation. Partners include the National Academy of Engineering, the Canadian National Research Council, the Royal Society, the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Chinese Academy of Engineering. Participants will include government officials, industry leaders, and academic researchers from many different countries in addition to the United States, U.K., China, and Canada. Topics to be addressed include national security, data use and privacy, and legal and intellectual property conundrums related to AI. Grant funds will partially support a workshop and associated webcast, a subsequent workshop report, and the creation and dissemination of supplementary resources for participants and the public.

    To convene an international workshop that will plan global cooperation and coordination concerning Artificial Intelligence research and its applications

    More
  • grantee: Yale University
    amount: $741,681
    city: New Haven, CT
    year: 2018

    To accelerate scientific discovery by using statistical machine learning to enable advanced search of mathematical literature

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator John Lafferty

    To accelerate scientific discovery by using statistical machine learning to enable advanced search of mathematical literature

    More
  • grantee: Nesta
    amount: $20,000
    city: London, United Kingdom
    year: 2018

    To hold a conference on experimental and evidence-based methods for studying discovery, innovation, and growth

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Albert Bravo-Biosca

    To hold a conference on experimental and evidence-based methods for studying discovery, innovation, and growth

    More
  • grantee: Brown University
    amount: $33,500
    city: Providence, RI
    year: 2018

    To support the 2018 Blackwell-Tapia Conference providing early-career minority mathematicians with enhanced understanding of their field, networking with peers, and interactions with senior researchers

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Brendan Hassett

    To support the 2018 Blackwell-Tapia Conference providing early-career minority mathematicians with enhanced understanding of their field, networking with peers, and interactions with senior researchers

    More
  • grantee: Benjamin Ehrlich
    amount: $50,000
    city: Fort Lee, NJ
    year: 2018

    To support the research and writing of The Brain That Discovered Itself, about the father of neuroscience Santiago Ramon y Cajal, to be published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in Fall 2020

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Benjamin Ehrlich

    To support the research and writing of The Brain That Discovered Itself, about the father of neuroscience Santiago Ramon y Cajal, to be published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in Fall 2020

    More
  • grantee: Jeffrey Hecht
    amount: $33,000
    city: Auburndale, MA
    year: 2018

    To support the research and writing of a book on the history of laser weapons, including recent innovations

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Jeff Hecht

    To support the research and writing of a book on the history of laser weapons, including recent innovations

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Davis
    amount: $750,000
    city: Davis, CA
    year: 2018

    To lead the modeling and visualization activities of the Deep Carbon Observatory to achieve maximum contributions and legacies during the synthesis phase of the program

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Louise Kellogg

    One of the most far-reaching ambitions of the Deep Carbon Observatory is an omnibus modeling effort to integrate knowledge about the movements and transformations of carbon, an effort spanning the core, mantle, and crust over the four and a half billion years since Earth’s formation. The prospect is daunting, ranging from molecular processes to lava flows, to continent formation, from diamonds, to microbes, to billions of tons of sinking sediments, from temperatures conducive for life to those that melt iron, from pressures allowing delicate films to form to those that crush carbon into diamonds, and from momentary events to those so slow that in comparison the adjective “glacial” describes the blink of an eye. In addition, the temptation to model the evolution of the planet, including the emergence of life and the biosphere, proved irresistible.  Funds from this grant provide continued support to the Deep Carbon Observatory Modeling Forum in its efforts to provide an intellectual framework for the DCO’s modelers and to create key component models to speed and integrate their work. Over the next 21 months, the project team will continue its work developing open access platforms and tools for the modeling and visualization of deep carbon. Funded activities include software development, participation in the wider DCO’s synthesis activities, the holding of a workshop on modeling and visualization, and a series of “immersion” workshops designed to introduce DCO researchers to immersive model visualization.

    To lead the modeling and visualization activities of the Deep Carbon Observatory to achieve maximum contributions and legacies during the synthesis phase of the program

    More
  • grantee: Cornell University
    amount: $125,000
    city: Ithaca, NY
    year: 2018

    To provide renewed support to examine how disinfectants may promote antibiotic resistance through horizontal gene transfer

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Ilana Brito

    To provide renewed support to examine how disinfectants may promote antibiotic resistance through horizontal gene transfer

    More
  • grantee: United Hospital Fund of New York
    amount: $60,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2018

    To provide partial support for a workshop on the impact of the opioid crisis on children and caregivers

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Carol Levine

    To provide partial support for a workshop on the impact of the opioid crisis on children and caregivers

    More
  • grantee: North Carolina State University
    amount: $48,002
    city: Raleigh, NC
    year: 2018

    To co-fund a workshop on data science within Land Grant Universities

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Marc Hoit

    To co-fund a workshop on data science within Land Grant Universities

    More
  • grantee: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
    amount: $67,100
    city: Cold Spring Harbor, NY
    year: 2018

    To support a Banbury meeting on signals of trust within scholarly communication

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Rebecca Leshan

    To support a Banbury meeting on signals of trust within scholarly communication

    More
  • grantee: Research Foundation of CUNY o/b/o Jay College of Criminal Justice
    amount: $124,991
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2018

    To develop a model educational program and supportive community for the persistence of women graduate students in STEM through the presentation of the play, “Truth Values,” with associated workshops, mentoring, and networking activities

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Silvia Mazzula

    To develop a model educational program and supportive community for the persistence of women graduate students in STEM through the presentation of the play, “Truth Values,” with associated workshops, mentoring, and networking activities

    More
  • grantee: Technology Affinity Group
    amount: $5,000
    city: Chicago, IL
    year: 2018

    To support 2018 Membership Dues for this affinity group of the Council on Foundations

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Chantal Forster

    To support 2018 Membership Dues for this affinity group of the Council on Foundations

    More
  • grantee: University of Texas, Austin
    amount: $57,500
    city: Austin, TX
    year: 2018

    To support Power Trip: The Story of Energy by Michael Webber, to be published by Basic Books in 2019

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Michael Webber

    To support Power Trip: The Story of Energy by Michael Webber, to be published by Basic Books in 2019

    More
  • grantee: University of Texas, Austin
    amount: $70,043
    city: Austin, TX
    year: 2018

    To examine ozone reactions with four common indoor materials

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Chemistry of Indoor Environments
    • Investigator Richard Corsi

    To examine ozone reactions with four common indoor materials

    More
  • grantee: University of Michigan
    amount: $24,269
    city: Ann Arbor, MI
    year: 2018

    To support a workshop on indoor surface chemistry

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Chemistry of Indoor Environments
    • Investigator Andrew Ault

    To support a workshop on indoor surface chemistry

    More
  • grantee: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    amount: $97,348
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2018

    To ascertain current policies of large companies toward older employees working beyond traditional retirement ages

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Robert Clark

    To ascertain current policies of large companies toward older employees working beyond traditional retirement ages

    More
  • grantee: RAND Corporation
    amount: $125,000
    city: Santa Monica, CA
    year: 2018

    To pilot a new approach to collect linked worker-firm data in which both workers and employers provide information about the determinants of the length of working life

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Peter Hudomiet

    To pilot a new approach to collect linked worker-firm data in which both workers and employers provide information about the determinants of the length of working life

    More
  • grantee: Georgia State University Research Foundation
    amount: $107,931
    city: Atlanta, GA
    year: 2018

    To conduct research on the returns to later-age degrees (for individuals 50 and older) in terms of wage premiums, employment stability, and retirement income

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Sally Wallace

    To conduct research on the returns to later-age degrees (for individuals 50 and older) in terms of wage premiums, employment stability, and retirement income

    More
  • grantee: Regents of the University of Idaho
    amount: $20,000
    city: Moscow, ID
    year: 2018

    To support the first U.S. Semantic Technologies Symposium

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Xiaogang Ma

    To support the first U.S. Semantic Technologies Symposium

    More
  • grantee: Columbia University
    amount: $20,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2018

    To partially support a summit of data science leadership across US universities

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Jeannette Wing

    To partially support a summit of data science leadership across US universities

    More
  • grantee: Barnard College
    amount: $15,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2018

    To support a screening of the Sloan-supported documentary Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story and a panel about portraying women in science on the screen at the Athena Film Festival in February 2018

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Kathryn Kolbert

    To support a screening of the Sloan-supported documentary Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story and a panel about portraying women in science on the screen at the Athena Film Festival in February 2018

    More
  • grantee: University of Colorado, Boulder
    amount: $125,000
    city: Boulder, CO
    year: 2018

    To provide partial support for an instrument to improve detection of volatile organic compounds

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Chemistry of Indoor Environments
    • Investigator Joost de Gouw

    To provide partial support for an instrument to improve detection of volatile organic compounds

    More
  • grantee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    amount: $20,000
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2018

    Support for the preliminary stages of a MIT Press book and film project on women in STEM fields and the seminal 1999 report “A Study on the Status of Women Faculty in Science at MIT.”

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program New Media
    • Investigator Amy Brand

    Support for the preliminary stages of a MIT Press book and film project on women in STEM fields and the seminal 1999 report “A Study on the Status of Women Faculty in Science at MIT.”

    More
  • grantee: University of Pennsylvania
    amount: $19,146
    city: Philadelphia, PA
    year: 2018

    To analyze the economics of labor markets for information technology workers using administrative datasets

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Economic Analysis of Science and Technology (EAST)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Prasanna Tambe

    To analyze the economics of labor markets for information technology workers using administrative datasets

    More
  • grantee: Social Science Research Council
    amount: $125,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2017

    To pilot a small grants program establishing the Sloan Scholars Mentoring Network (SSMN) as a grant-making organization to incentivize Sloan Scholar participation, to support early academic-career Sloan graduates, and to create opportunities for informal mentoring

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Mary McDonnell

    To pilot a small grants program establishing the Sloan Scholars Mentoring Network (SSMN) as a grant-making organization to incentivize Sloan Scholar participation, to support early academic-career Sloan graduates, and to create opportunities for informal mentoring

    More
  • grantee: John M. Johnson Jr.
    amount: $38,517
    city: Ojai, CA
    year: 2017

    To support a book about the astrophysicist Fritz Zwicky and the search for dark matter

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator John Johnson

    To support a book about the astrophysicist Fritz Zwicky and the search for dark matter

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Berkeley
    amount: $20,000
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2017

    To support the first paper in a two-year, three-paper research agenda on “The Equilibrium and Spillover Effects of Working Longer: Evidence from Quasi-Experimental Variation in Early Retirement Incentives”

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Benjamin Schoefer

    To support the first paper in a two-year, three-paper research agenda on “The Equilibrium and Spillover Effects of Working Longer: Evidence from Quasi-Experimental Variation in Early Retirement Incentives”

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Berkeley
    amount: $30,000
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2017

    To extend comparative data analysis for studies of water damaged homes in NY and CA

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator John Taylor

    To extend comparative data analysis for studies of water damaged homes in NY and CA

    More
  • grantee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    amount: $50,000
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2017

    To support up to four undergraduate students planning for PhD programs from the University of Puerto Rico system for a semester (Spring 2018) of study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Alan Grossman

    To support up to four undergraduate students planning for PhD programs from the University of Puerto Rico system for a semester (Spring 2018) of study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

    More
  • grantee: Montana State University
    amount: $48,417
    city: Bozeman, MT
    year: 2017

    To support a book on the evolutionary and ecological science underlying agriculture, Eternal Harvest: An Extraordinary Biography of Wheat, to be published by University of Chicago Press

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Catherine Zabinski

    To support a book on the evolutionary and ecological science underlying agriculture, Eternal Harvest: An Extraordinary Biography of Wheat, to be published by University of Chicago Press

    More
  • grantee: Susan Hand Shetterly
    amount: $22,500
    city: Surry, ME
    year: 2017

    To support a book on seaweeds and their interactions with humans and their habitats, to be published by Algonquin Press

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Susan Shetterly

    To support a book on seaweeds and their interactions with humans and their habitats, to be published by Algonquin Press

    More
  • grantee: Maura R. O'Connor
    amount: $32,100
    city: Brooklyn, NY
    year: 2017

    To support Wayfinding: The Mystery and Science of Human Navigation in the Age of GPS, a nonfiction trade book on human navigation to be published by St. Martin’s Press in 2018

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Maura O'Connor

    To support Wayfinding: The Mystery and Science of Human Navigation in the Age of GPS, a nonfiction trade book on human navigation to be published by St. Martin’s Press in 2018

    More
  • grantee: Stephen E. Olson
    amount: $50,000
    city: Seattle, WA
    year: 2017

    To support a book on the discovery, manufacture, and use of plutonium in the bomb dropped on Nagasaki, to be published by W.W. Norton in the spring of 2020

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Stephen Olson

    To support a book on the discovery, manufacture, and use of plutonium in the bomb dropped on Nagasaki, to be published by W.W. Norton in the spring of 2020

    More
  • grantee: University College London
    amount: $20,000
    city: London, United Kingdom
    year: 2017

    To expand the content and outreach of Microeconomic Insights, an online source for accessible summaries of high-quality microeconomic research

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Ariel Pakes

    To expand the content and outreach of Microeconomic Insights, an online source for accessible summaries of high-quality microeconomic research

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Berkeley
    amount: $18,500
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2017

    To study private sector research and data sharing practices

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Deirdre Mulligan

    To study private sector research and data sharing practices

    More
  • grantee: Open Source Hardware Association
    amount: $58,920
    city: Boulder, CO
    year: 2017

    To support the development of a dynamic, web-based platform to facilitate the adoption, licensing, and improvement of open source hardware

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Alicia Gibb

    To support the development of a dynamic, web-based platform to facilitate the adoption, licensing, and improvement of open source hardware

    More
  • grantee: University of Michigan
    amount: $10,000
    city: Ann Arbor, MI
    year: 2017

    To organize a meeting of experts on the development of tools for teaching Quantitative Empirical Reasoning

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Margaret Levenstein

    To organize a meeting of experts on the development of tools for teaching Quantitative Empirical Reasoning

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Davis
    amount: $50,000
    city: Davis, CA
    year: 2017

    To further develop tools for the distributed transcription and classification of data from historic sources

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Peter Brantley

    To further develop tools for the distributed transcription and classification of data from historic sources

    More
  • grantee: Yale University Press
    amount: $30,250
    city: New Haven, CT
    year: 2017

    To support Urban Chromatic, a book that uses satellite imagery to increase public understanding of remote sensing and contemporary global urbanization

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Karen Seto

    To support Urban Chromatic, a book that uses satellite imagery to increase public understanding of remote sensing and contemporary global urbanization

    More
  • grantee: Washington Monthly Corporation
    amount: $50,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2017

    To support the re-launch of Invention & Technology Magazine with a special issue on the achievements of women and minorities in STEM and to redesign the website

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program New Media
    • Investigator Diane Straus

    To support the re-launch of Invention & Technology Magazine with a special issue on the achievements of women and minorities in STEM and to redesign the website

    More
  • grantee: George Washington University
    amount: $74,962
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2017

    To explore research areas in extreme biophysics, creation of new carbon-based materials, and implications for astrophysics and more extreme conditions not currently explored in the DCO

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Russell Hemley

    To explore research areas in extreme biophysics, creation of new carbon-based materials, and implications for astrophysics and more extreme conditions not currently explored in the DCO

    More
  • grantee: Center for State and Local Government Excellence
    amount: $109,450
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2017

    To collect, analyze and code data on U.S. state pension statues and related policies that impact a retiree’s ability to continue working or return to work

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Joshua Franzel

    To collect, analyze and code data on U.S. state pension statues and related policies that impact a retiree’s ability to continue working or return to work

    More
  • grantee: American Academy of Arts and Sciences
    amount: $50,000
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2017

    To better understand the benefits and challenges of international science partnerships, including energy and environmental issues, through a workshop and white paper

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator John Randell

    To better understand the benefits and challenges of international science partnerships, including energy and environmental issues, through a workshop and white paper

    More
  • grantee: Association of American Universities
    amount: $20,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2017

    To undertake planning activities in preparation for a major new initiative on PhD education in collaboration with AAU member universities

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Tobin Smith

    To undertake planning activities in preparation for a major new initiative on PhD education in collaboration with AAU member universities

    More
  • grantee: Georgetown University
    amount: $7,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2017

    To partially support a meeting on the capacity of organizations at the local, state, national and international levels to utilize data to advance science and solve social problems

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Michael Bailey

    To partially support a meeting on the capacity of organizations at the local, state, national and international levels to utilize data to advance science and solve social problems

    More
  • grantee: Philanthropy New York
    amount: $28,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2017

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Allyson Goldhagen

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    More
  • grantee: Miller-McCune Center for Research Media and Public Policy
    amount: $50,000
    city: Santa Barbara, CA
    year: 2017

    To support academic and nonprofit participation in a workshop that will also bring together industry and policy leaders to discuss computational social science

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Economic Analysis of Science and Technology (EAST)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Geane DeLima

    To support academic and nonprofit participation in a workshop that will also bring together industry and policy leaders to discuss computational social science

    More
  • grantee: Drexel University
    amount: $84,797
    city: Philadelphia, PA
    year: 2017

    To disseminate key results from the Chemistry of Indoor Environments program and Microbiology of the Built Environment program at Indoor Air 2018

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Chemistry of Indoor Environments
    • Investigator Michael Waring

    To disseminate key results from the Chemistry of Indoor Environments program and Microbiology of the Built Environment program at Indoor Air 2018

    More
  • grantee: Gordon Research Conferences
    amount: $74,750
    city: West Kingston, RI
    year: 2017

    To provide partial support for the inaugural Microbiology of the Built Environment Gordon Research Conference

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Jordan Peccia

    To provide partial support for the inaugural Microbiology of the Built Environment Gordon Research Conference

    More
  • grantee: International Energy Program Evaluation Conference
    amount: $17,750
    city: Chatham, MA
    year: 2017

    To continue support in accelerating and advancing the profession of energy evaluation by enabling graduate students to attend the 2018 IEPPEC Conference

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Sharyn Barata

    To continue support in accelerating and advancing the profession of energy evaluation by enabling graduate students to attend the 2018 IEPPEC Conference

    More
  • grantee: New Venture Fund
    amount: $50,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2017

    To support the Open Research Funders Group, a partnership committed to the open sharing of research outputs

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Heather Joseph

    To support the Open Research Funders Group, a partnership committed to the open sharing of research outputs

    More
  • grantee: University of Sydney
    amount: $100,000
    city: Sydney, Australia
    year: 2017

    To modify models of the movement of Earth’s tectonic plates over the past billion years to incorporate visual knowledge of deep carbon cycle

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Sabin Zahirovic

    To modify models of the movement of Earth’s tectonic plates over the past billion years to incorporate visual knowledge of deep carbon cycle

    More
  • grantee: Carnegie Institution of Washington
    amount: $115,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2017

    To provide partial support for the 4-D workshop on deep-time, data-driven discovery and the evolution of earth

    • Program Science
    • Investigator Robert Hazen

    To provide partial support for the 4-D workshop on deep-time, data-driven discovery and the evolution of earth

    More
  • grantee: National Press Foundation
    amount: $106,553
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2017

    To provide a four-day training in the public understanding of working longer to a set of 20 journalists

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Sandy Johnson

    To provide a four-day training in the public understanding of working longer to a set of 20 journalists

    More
  • grantee: Center for Economic and Policy Research
    amount: $15,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2017

    To analyze the Contingent Work Supplements (CWS) in order to better understand the incidence of nonstandard work arrangements among varying demographic groups and to assess changes found between 1995-2017

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Eileen Appelbaum

    To analyze the Contingent Work Supplements (CWS) in order to better understand the incidence of nonstandard work arrangements among varying demographic groups and to assess changes found between 1995-2017

    More
  • grantee: University of Michigan
    amount: $57,524
    city: Ann Arbor, MI
    year: 2017

    To research the economics of energy efficiency, as recommended by a Request for Proposals review committee, by characterizing profiles of households who fall into financing coverage gaps for energy efficiency programs

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Tony Reames

    To research the economics of energy efficiency, as recommended by a Request for Proposals review committee, by characterizing profiles of households who fall into financing coverage gaps for energy efficiency programs

    More
  • grantee: Appalachian State University
    amount: $213,254
    city: Boone, NC
    year: 2017

    To research the economics of energy efficiency, as recommended by a Request for Proposals review committee, by examining how behavioral nudges in the form of electronic notifications impact electricity consumption and energy efficiency program participation

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Tanga Mohr

    To research the economics of energy efficiency, as recommended by a Request for Proposals review committee, by examining how behavioral nudges in the form of electronic notifications impact electricity consumption and energy efficiency program participation

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Davis
    amount: $250,000
    city: Davis, CA
    year: 2017

    To research the economics of energy efficiency, as recommended by a Request for Proposals review committee, by examining the relationship between electricity rate structures and consumer investments in energy efficient appliances

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator David Rapson

    To research the economics of energy efficiency, as recommended by a Request for Proposals review committee, by examining the relationship between electricity rate structures and consumer investments in energy efficient appliances

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Berkeley
    amount: $222,289
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2017

    To research the economics of energy efficiency, as recommended by a Request for Proposals review committee, by estimating the impacts of an industrial energy efficiency program on electricity use, water use, and welfare in the agricultural sector

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Maximilian Auffhammer

    To research the economics of energy efficiency, as recommended by a Request for Proposals review committee, by estimating the impacts of an industrial energy efficiency program on electricity use, water use, and welfare in the agricultural sector

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Davis
    amount: $256,933
    city: Davis, CA
    year: 2017

    To research the economics of energy efficiency, as recommended by a Request for Proposals review committee, by studying how changing default participation options in a commercial energy efficiency program impacts program enrollment and energy use

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Katrina Jessoe

    To research the economics of energy efficiency, as recommended by a Request for Proposals review committee, by studying how changing default participation options in a commercial energy efficiency program impacts program enrollment and energy use

    More
  • grantee: Women Make Movies, Inc.
    amount: $50,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2017

    To showcase 10 high-profile new media science projects from the U.S. at the 2017 World Congress of Science and Factual Producers

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program New Media
    • Investigator Barbara Ghammashi

    To showcase 10 high-profile new media science projects from the U.S. at the 2017 World Congress of Science and Factual Producers

    More
  • grantee: Sponsors for Educational Opportunity, Inc.
    amount: $20,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2017

    To promote unrepresented minorities within the investment management industry by maximizing the pipeline of diversity into finance and top business sectors and to ensure that diverse talent is identified early and provided with the access, resources, and professional development needed to succeed

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Julian Johnson

    To promote unrepresented minorities within the investment management industry by maximizing the pipeline of diversity into finance and top business sectors and to ensure that diverse talent is identified early and provided with the access, resources, and professional development needed to succeed

    More
  • grantee: Art of Problem Solving Foundation
    amount: $20,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2017

    To provide partial support for the BEAM 6 program

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Ruthi Hortsch

    To provide partial support for the BEAM 6 program

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Berkeley
    amount: $659,359
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2017

    To support improvements to NumPy, an essential numerical computing utility for the Python programming language

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Jonathan Dugan

    If you are working with data using the Python programming language, you probably rely on an open source software library called NumPy which provides tools to store large multidimensional arrays and matrices, algorithms for their analysis and manipulation, and means to move them from one software package to another. Without NumPy, scientific computing in Python would be slower, more cumbersome, and more error-prone. Initially released in 2005, NumPy’s core code has built up a substantial “technical debt,” which not only constrains the future development of the platform but also creates a high barrier to entry into its open source developer community. This grant supports an ambitious project led by NumPy core developer Nathaniel Smith to discharge this technical debt and set in place standards and architecture to encourage more sustainable development going forward. Using this funding, Smith and a team of developers will develop new modular systems for creating data types and arrays of data within NumPy; conduct a wholesale clean-up of the NumPy codebase; and launch a new community engagement process that includes face-to-face meetings, the onboarding of new contributors, and processes for proposing and evaluating larger architectural changes to the platform.

    To support improvements to NumPy, an essential numerical computing utility for the Python programming language

    More
  • grantee: Hopewell Fund
    amount: $211,091
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2017

    To develop centralized coordination capacity within the Data Science Environment partnership for alumni networking, evaluation, and internal and external communications

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Ali Ferguson

    The Moore-Sloan Data Science Environments (DSEs) are a major collaboration between Sloan and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to support three university-based data science centers devoted to empowering data-driven research through the creation of new tools, resources, infrastructure, and career paths that help university researchers make the most of the possibilities that data science opens for the 21st century scientist. Supported centers have been launched at the University of California, Berkeley; NYU; and the University of Washington. This grant provides funds for the hire and support of a DSE coordinator who will take responsibility for internal communication between the DSEs, serve as a visible point of contact for inquiries and outward messaging for best practices coming out of the DSEs, and develop a network to connect and support “alumni” who have in one way or another left the DSE universities and are now building data science capacity at other universities. This new coordinator position will be initially housed within the Hopewell Fund, an arm of the New Venture Fund.

    To develop centralized coordination capacity within the Data Science Environment partnership for alumni networking, evaluation, and internal and external communications

    More
  • grantee: Community Initiatives
    amount: $497,338
    city: San Francisco, CA
    year: 2017

    To support the development of data and computational skills training curricula in image analysis, economics, and chemistry

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Tracy Teal

    Data Carpentry is community-driven organization that develops and teaches workshops on the fundamental data skills needed to conduct research. A sister effort to Software Carpentry, which provides researchers with hands-on training in the basic software engineering skills that are increasingly needed for the conduct of 21st century science but are unlikely to be taught in standard scientific PhD curricula, Data Carpentry workshops target researchers who think of themselves not as software developers, but who may write custom code for the management, preparation, and analysis of their research data. Because the size, shape, and format of data differ substantially across disciplines, the “Data Carpentry” curriculum is necessarily domain-specific in a way that Software Carpentry is not. After initial successes in ecology, genomics, geospatial data, and biology, the Data Carpentry leaders will use the funds from this grant to grow into new disciplines (image analysis, economics, and chemistry), in the process standardizing their curriculum development processes in order to make it easier to form new disciplinary communities. Over the next two years, Data Carpentry plans to assemble Advisory Committees for each area of focus, run curriculum-building hackathons, and then pilot each bootcamp several times before releasing to the broader community of Software/Data Carpentry members.

    To support the development of data and computational skills training curricula in image analysis, economics, and chemistry

    More
  • grantee: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
    amount: $774,770
    city: Troy, NY
    year: 2017

    To support the Research Data Alliance regional U.S. organization

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Leslie Borrelli

    The Research Data Alliance is an international grassroots organization that brings technologists, developers, and researchers together to jointly develop and adopt data-sharing infrastructure, tools, and practices. RDA working groups tackle some of the thorniest topics facing data science today, including reproducibility, data preservation, interoperability, data citation, and best practices for data repositories. RDA provides useful services to the data-driven research community, including to many grantees supported through the Foundation’s Digital Information Technology program. Funds from this grant provide core operating support to the U.S. regional chapter of the RDA and support efforts to build out the organization’s U.S. administrative infrastructure and grow its membership base. Funded activities over the next three years include the production of reports detailing RDA data sharing recommendations, member outreach, creation of adoption case studies for RDA products and services, trainings, annual stakeholder meetings, and the development of a long term business plan for independent sustainability.

    To support the Research Data Alliance regional U.S. organization

    More
  • grantee: Council on Library and Information Resources
    amount: $925,362
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2017

    To support data and software curation postdoctoral fellowships, in order to develop emerging leaders in the field and build capacity within academic libraries

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Charles Henry

    This grant provides three years of support to an ongoing postdoctoral fellowship program administered by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) that aims both to grow data and software curation capacity within research libraries and to develop the next generation of data and software curators who will bring deep research experience into the organizational context of the university library. Fellows are PhD-level researchers who are selected, in part, for their potential to build collaborative relationships with natural and social scientists across the university. Since the launch of the program in 2012, fellows have been placed at a wide variety of universities, working with scientists and library staff on projects to improve the university’s data and software curation services and responding to requests from researchers to build tools and resources that speak to their needs. Recent participating institutions include UC Berkeley, MIT, Yale, the California Digital Library, Vanderbilt, the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and the U.S. Agency for International Development. Funds from this grant will support the 2018-2020 class of CLIR fellows, which includes a cohort of four software curation fellows as well as four additional data curation fellows in the natural and social sciences. In addition to covering some salary, travel, and professional development support for fellows, grant funds cover operational costs associated with the administration of the program.

    To support data and software curation postdoctoral fellowships, in order to develop emerging leaders in the field and build capacity within academic libraries

    More
  • grantee: Yale University
    amount: $1,000,000
    city: New Haven, CT
    year: 2017

    To expand emulation and software preservation infrastructure in order to ensure that software and software-dependent digital content is accessible by future generations

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Euan Cochrane

    Yale University Library digital archivist Euan Cochrane leads one of the most ambitious software archiving programs in United States research libraries. Currently accessible to Yale faculty and students, the Yale software collection relies on open source software called bwFLA that enables the creation, management, and distribution of “virtual machines” which can simulate the hardware of an older computer on a newer computer and then run older software on the simulated machine. In practice this means that if you have the right credentials, you can go to the Yale Library website, click a link, and suddenly be running Windows 3.1, the original MacOS, or any other operating system and software, right in your browser. This grant supports efforts by Cochrane and his team at Yale to further develop this infrastructure and, working with the Software Preservation Network, to cultivate this capability at other institutions. The grant will support focused work on four use cases: scientific software, CD-ROM archiving, restricted-access reading rooms, and a “Universal Virtual Interactor” that would automatically launch the correct software and version to open any given digital file. Other supported activities include technical refinements to the bwFLA platform and the archiving of the National Software Reference Library currently held by the National Institutes of Standards and Technology.

    To expand emulation and software preservation infrastructure in order to ensure that software and software-dependent digital content is accessible by future generations

    More
  • grantee: Paris School of Economics
    amount: $900,000
    city: Paris, France
    year: 2017

    To improve the quality, quantity, and accessibility of data in the World Wealth and Income Database (WID.world) for researchers of all backgrounds and for the general public

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Universal Access to Knowledge
    • Investigator Thomas Piketty

    The World Wealth and Income Database (WID.world), co-directed by Facundo Alvaredo, Lucas Chancel and Thomas Piketty at the Paris School of Economics and Emanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman at the University of California at Berkeley, provides high quality, fully public access to comprehensive and reliable data on income and wealth inequality. Surprisingly easy to use, the website allows researchers, journalists, and the public to access raw data, read the methodology of how those data were collected and processed, and improve them through their own contributions. WID.world datasets combine fiscal, survey and national account data in a novel, systematic way that produces reliable income time series and minimizes well known problems related to self-reporting and “under-reporting at the top.” Funds from this grant support the continued expansion and improvement of WID.world. Plans include expanding the number of countries covered to include China, India, Brazil, and several African states; improving data on the full income distribution; using collected income data to study issues such as tax fraud; improving the sites statistical tools; and adding new data variables like gender and environmental inequality. In addition, the research team will hold several workshops to facilitate use of the site and improve coordination with other researchers and large organizations such as the World Bank and IMF.

    To improve the quality, quantity, and accessibility of data in the World Wealth and Income Database (WID.world) for researchers of all backgrounds and for the general public

    More
  • grantee: American Association for the Advancement of Science
    amount: $500,251
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2017

    To pilot a Center for Scientific Evidence in Public Issues whose reports on policy-relevant scientific findings will be impartial, respected, timely, and informed by expertise in the social and behavioral sciences

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Economic Analysis of Science and Technology (EAST)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Rush Holt

    The new Center for Scientific Evidence in Public Issues (the “Scientific EPI Center”) being launched by the American Association for the Advancement of Science aims to help bring scientific evidence to bear on public policy issues. The need for such a center has been discussed in Washington for decades, beginning when Congress closed its own Office of Technology Assessment in 1995. As impartial scientific expertise in government and think tanks has dwindled, policymakers increasingly turn to lobbyists or other self-interested parties. What is needed, instead, is a source of impartial experts who can bring our best scientific understandings to bear on policy issues as diverse as climate change, cybersecurity, AI, and renewable energy. This grant provides funds to the new Scientific EPI Center for the hiring of a full-time economist or other empirical social scientist. The addition of such a full-time staff will allow the Center to benefit from the rigorous frameworks and models developed within economics for the analysis of incentives and behavior, provide a guide to the voluminous economic literature that bears on policy issues, and ensure that Center reports and recommendations are informed by economic insights about trade-offs, opportunity costs, nudges, and elasticities. Qualifications for this position include a Ph.D. as well as years of scholarly achievement, policy experience, and management practice.

    To pilot a Center for Scientific Evidence in Public Issues whose reports on policy-relevant scientific findings will be impartial, respected, timely, and informed by expertise in the social and behavioral sciences

    More
  • grantee: Columbia University
    amount: $299,989
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2017

    To support the Columbia Energy Exchange podcast series to disseminate information and deepen dialogue around energy and environment issues

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Jason Bordoff

    This grant provides two years of support for the continued production and improvement of the Columbia Energy Exchange podcast series, produced by Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP). Launched in 2015 and hosted by veteran energy journalist Bill Loveless, the 30-minute, weekly podcast features in-depth, one-on-one discussions with top thought leaders in the energy sector. The podcast series has featured an impressive network of leaders from across the energy system, including former government agency heads from the United States and abroad, CEOs of energy companies involved in a wide range of industries (oil, gas, electricity, nuclear, and renewables), and top analysts from energy think tanks, consultancies, and NGOs. Past guests include former Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz, Canada’s Minister of Environment Catherine McKenna, Chevron CEO John Watson, and the World Bank’s Head of Energy Riccardo Puliti. The podcast series also features research results from CGEP-affiliated scholars and its weekly release schedule enables CGEP to address topical and relevant energy issues as they rise in the public discourse. Sloan grant support will provide funds for the production of 50 episodes of the series over each of the next two years, allow CGEP to produce transcripts of each episode, and enable necessary technical improvements to upgrade the podcast’s audio quality.

    To support the Columbia Energy Exchange podcast series to disseminate information and deepen dialogue around energy and environment issues

    More
  • grantee: University of California, San Diego
    amount: $271,207
    city: La Jolla, CA
    year: 2017

    To assess the economic, policy, institutional, and technological barriers and opportunities associated with the development and deployment of carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration technologies

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator David Victor

    Many analyses examining the transition to a low-carbon energy system in the United States identify carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration (CCUS) technologies as critical in order to make progress toward deep decarbonization. These technologies have proven difficult to develop and scale, however, and much uncertainty remains about the durability and longevity of policies and incentive structures designed to demonstrate their feasibility. Funds from this grant support work by David Victor and his team at the University of California, San Diego to examine the economic, political, institutional, and technological barriers that are impeding the development of CCUS technologies. First, the team will survey the literature and develop a typology of canonical CCUS technology features being used in different CCUS demonstration facilities, such as the adopted method of carbon dioxide sequestration or the planned industrial use of the carbon dioxide byproduct. They will then select a set of demonstration plants that represent a broad array of different CCUS features to study, conducting semi-structured interviews with a wide range of industry leaders, government representatives, scientists, engineers, and non-governmental actors involved in these projects. Their analysis will focus on the regulatory, institutional, and technological barriers and opportunities that have shaped the development of CCUS technologies to date with the aim of extracting relevant lessons that can be learned as this suite of technologies moves ahead. At the end of the project, the UCSD team will organize a structured workshop to review the research results and share findings with the broader community of researchers and practitioners.

    To assess the economic, policy, institutional, and technological barriers and opportunities associated with the development and deployment of carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration technologies

    More
  • grantee: Arizona State University
    amount: $299,574
    city: Tempe, AZ
    year: 2017

    To examine alternative governance approaches and institutions associated with geoengineering research, focusing on solar radiation management field experiments, using participatory deliberation methodologies

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Daniel Sarewitz

    There is a growing debate in the energy and environment community about the role to be played by geoengineering as a response to climate change. Solar radiation management (SRM) technologies, which involve injecting aerosol particles into the atmosphere to cool the Earth by reflecting sunlight, are increasingly central to these discussions. SRM technologies may be developed quickly, have the potential to be relatively inexpensive, and could be easily scaled. However, SRM research and its associated deployment raises many underexplored concerns related to moral hazard, technological uncertainty, unintended externalities, and potential irreversibility. In particular, little is known about the public’s understanding of SRM technologies, their potential concerns, and what procedural and governance safeguards might be put in place to allay them. A multidisciplinary team of scholars at Arizona State University (ASU) proposes to conduct a series of public dialogues with the aim to better understand public views on the development, and deployment of SRM technologies. First, the ASU team will conduct an initial framing and design workshop with subject matter experts to develop rubrics for discussing SRM technologies with the public. Next, they will hold two forums, one in Arizona and the other in Boston, each involving over a hundred members of the lay public. Trained social scientists will lead structured focus groups that will inform participants about SRM technologies and solicit their views and perspectives. Multiple forms of qualitative and quantitative data will be collected throughout the process, including pre- and post- event surveys and interviews. A final expert workshop will then integrate and assess collected data and present findings to policymakers and the research community.

    To examine alternative governance approaches and institutions associated with geoengineering research, focusing on solar radiation management field experiments, using participatory deliberation methodologies

    More
  • grantee: University of Colorado, Denver
    amount: $218,239
    city: Denver, CO
    year: 2017

    To support a pilot study that will analyze case examples of policy conflict and concord among key stakeholders related to the siting of energy infrastructure, including solar and wind energy production projects, pipelines, and transmission lines

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Christopher Weible

    Researchers Tanya Heikkila and Chris Weible from the University of Colorado, Denver plan to undertake a research project that will examine the role played by different stakeholders and policy actors in contributing to the degree of conflict and concord surrounding the siting of energy infrastructure projects. Heikkila and Weible will examine stakeholder coalitions formed during the planning, permitting, and approval stages of various energy infrastructure projects, including renewable energy projects (wind farms and large-scale solar installations), transmission lines, and pipeline build-outs. They will first identify a variety of recently proposed large-scale energy infrastructure siting projects. They will then focus on a select set of each project type, representing a diverse array of stakeholder coalition characteristics, for more detailed study. Projects under study will include not only successful siting projects but also those that were terminated or abandoned due to stakeholder opposition. Heikkila and Weible will then interview key stakeholders and policy actors involved in the siting of each project and conduct detailed textual analyses of media coverage and public records related to permitting decisions.

    To support a pilot study that will analyze case examples of policy conflict and concord among key stakeholders related to the siting of energy infrastructure, including solar and wind energy production projects, pipelines, and transmission lines

    More
  • grantee: Duke University
    amount: $225,000
    city: Durham, NC
    year: 2017

    To support an Energy Data Analytics predoctoral fellows program to advance multidisciplinary training and collaboration among early career researchers in energy data analytics

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Brian Murray

    This proposed grant will provide partial funding for four Ph.D. students per year for two years (eight total) to conduct research on energy data analytics at Duke University’s Energy Data Analytics Lab (EDAL). Candidates will be drawn from a range of natural and social science disciplines—economics, engineering, environmental science, computer science, statistics, mathematics—and will be required to have faculty supervisors drawn from both energy-related domains and data-science relevant disciplines. Each pre-doctoral fellow will be expected to produce at least one paper that emerges from their fellowship research. All datasets produced will be made available through the EDAL repository. Fellows will has access to EDAL’s high performance computing environments and have the opportunity to lead an undergraduate energy data science team over a summer term. An Energy Data Analytics Symposium will be held at the end of the grant period to feature student work and that of invited internal and external senior scholars.

    To support an Energy Data Analytics predoctoral fellows program to advance multidisciplinary training and collaboration among early career researchers in energy data analytics

    More
  • grantee: Resources for the Future, Inc.
    amount: $1,348,653
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2017

    To develop and implement a transparent, multidisciplinary research initiative to update comprehensively the framework for social cost of carbon dioxide estimation reflecting the best available science and economics analysis

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Raymond Kopp

    Among the most critical, unanswered research questions in energy and environmental policy is determining the economic impact of carbon dioxide emissions on society. This measure, the social cost of carbon (SCC), is defined as the dollar value cost to society of emitting one ton of carbon dioxide (or carbon dioxide equivalent gas) into the atmosphere. Estimating the SCC is necessary for conducting cost-benefit analyses of more than 150 federal laws and regulations in the United States. This grant to Resources for the Future (RFF) provides partial support for a large scale initiative that would develop an improved computational platform for estimating the SCC. RFF plans to put in place an integrated, modular framework that disaggregates the SCC estimation process into four distinct modules: socioeconomics, climate, damages, and discounting. Doing so will allow the best natural and social science research in each area to inform projections and estimations on each topic. These modules will then be linked together through an open source, computationally efficient, publicly accessible, and fully documented platform. This approach will help economists and climate scientists better compare similarities and differences among the three major integrated climate assessment models that underpin the SCC.

    To develop and implement a transparent, multidisciplinary research initiative to update comprehensively the framework for social cost of carbon dioxide estimation reflecting the best available science and economics analysis

    More
  • grantee: Council on Library and Information Resources
    amount: $521,200
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2017

    To improve data management practices in energy economics and policy analysis research through a Postdoctoral Fellowship Program in Data Curation for Energy Economics

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Charles Henry

    This grant to the Council on Library and Information Resources funds a fellowship program for four, two-year postdocs interested in working at the intersection of energy economics and data science. As large, complex datasets on energy production, transportation, and use become increasingly available, demand has emerged for a new type of scholar with one foot firmly in energy economics—the data it uses, the questions it asks, the methodologies it deploys—and one foot in data science. These fellowships aim to fill some of that need by creating postdoctoral positions that provide such training. Supported fellows will work on a diverse array of projects such as energy data visualization, integrating multiple datasets, and establishing university-wide energy data storage and access platforms. Fellows will be placed at four energy research centers that are existing grantees in the Foundation’s Energy and Environment program: University of California Berkeley’s Energy Institute at Haas, the Energy Institute at the University of Texas at Austin, Duke University’s Energy Data Analytics Lab, and the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago. Fellows will be selected in close cooperation with researchers at each institute, ensuring that candidates have both the skills and research interests each institute needs. As a signal of demand for the fellows, participating Centers have agreed to cover 50% of each fellow’s stipend and benefits costs. The fellowship program will be administered by the Council on Library and Information Resources, which has experience running several successful fellowship programs and has well-established recruitment, selection, mentoring, and professional development processes, including annual network-building workshops and the provision of micro-grants to selected fellows for collaborative projects.

    To improve data management practices in energy economics and policy analysis research through a Postdoctoral Fellowship Program in Data Curation for Energy Economics

    More
  • grantee: National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, Inc.
    amount: $700,000
    city: White Plains, NY
    year: 2017

    To support a new Alfred P. Sloan Minority Ph.D. (MPHD) University Center of Exemplary Mentoring (UCEM) program at Duke University (combining $700,000 in new funding with $300,000 in unspent NACME funds)

    • Program Higher Education
    • Initiative Minority Ph.D.
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Christopher Smith

    This award provides for the establishment of a new University Center of Exemplary Mentoring (UCEM) to be hosted at Duke University. The heart of the Foundation’s longstanding Minority PhD program, UCEMs are campus-based initiatives that provide scholarships, faculty and peer mentoring, professional development activities, and seminars and other resources aimed at promoting underrepresented minority students’ (URMs’) successful completion of graduate study. The Duke University UCEM will encompass nine science and engineering departments: chemistry, computer science, mathematics, physics, statistical science, biomedical engineering, civil and environmental engineering, electrical and computer engineering, and mechanical engineering and materials science. Over the three-year grant period, 30 minority graduate students will be supported with $40,000 awards over and above their standard graduate student support packages, half from Sloan grant funds and half from Duke matching funds. In addition, UCEM faculty and administrators will enhance and expand their minority outreach, aiming for a 20% increase in URM applications and at least a 10% increase in URM matriculants to the UCEM-participating programs over the life of the grant. Other funded activities include a coordinated set of professional development and support activities for supported students, including mentorship, seminars, and networking opportunities.

    To support a new Alfred P. Sloan Minority Ph.D. (MPHD) University Center of Exemplary Mentoring (UCEM) program at Duke University (combining $700,000 in new funding with $300,000 in unspent NACME funds)

    More
  • grantee: University of Maryland, Baltimore County
    amount: $1,304,560
    city: Baltimore, MD
    year: 2017

    To develop an effective pipeline for underrepresented minority students to gain admission to and complete highly competitive doctoral programs in economics by providing student support, high-value summer research experiences, and  postbaccalaureate programs

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator David Mitch

    This grant funds a pilot project at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) that will leverage the insights and infrastructure of the university’s successful Meyerhoff Scholars program to identify talented minority undergraduates with an interest in pursuing advanced degrees in economics and provide them with high quality mentoring and training that will help prepare them for success in top flight graduate programs. Funded activities include: Hosting of several workshops per year to inform students early in their college years about career opportunities available to economics PhDs; Creation of faculty working groups in economics, math, and other STEM fields to examine how undergraduate course pathways influence the potential for doctoral work in economics; Provision of advising, mentoring, group support, and financial support for interested students; Offering of summer research experiences to 15 undergraduates over five years at either UMBC or at one of several other approved research universities or institutes; and The award of five stipends to UMBC graduates for two-year research assistantships in Sloan-approved economics-focused post-baccalaureate programs.

    To develop an effective pipeline for underrepresented minority students to gain admission to and complete highly competitive doctoral programs in economics by providing student support, high-value summer research experiences, and  postbaccalaureate programs

    More
  • grantee: National Academy of Sciences
    amount: $400,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2017

    To heighten quality, vigor, and innovation in the U.S. STEMM enterprise by increasing the diversity of individuals, research teams, and leadership through a consensus study and online resource guide on effective mentoring programs and practices

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Thomas Rudin

    This grant provides partial support for a two-year initiative by the National Academies’ Board on Higher Education and Workforce to produce a thoroughly-researched consensus study on effective mentoring practices and the role these practices play in improving student persistence and expanding diversity and inclusion. Examining both undergraduate and graduate mentoring programs, the study aims to identify areas for future empirical research and to evaluate the impact of varied mentoring programs in STEMM (STEM+Medicine). A parallel effort will develop an online, interactive resource guide so that institutions, departments, individual faculty, and student development professionals will be able to access fully-vetted materials and resources on mentoring and customize them for their own use. Plans are to convene a study committee of 8-12 members; hold two-to-four in-person committee meetings and four-to-five virtual committee meetings; complete a critical review of the literature; organize workshops and stakeholder engagement activities; publish the committee report; develop, test, and launch the interactive online resource; and assess the project’s uptake and impact.

    To heighten quality, vigor, and innovation in the U.S. STEMM enterprise by increasing the diversity of individuals, research teams, and leadership through a consensus study and online resource guide on effective mentoring programs and practices

    More
  • grantee: Mathematical Sciences Research Institute
    amount: $449,500
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2017

    To increase the number of students from underrepresented groups in mathematics graduate programs

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Helene Barcelo

    This grant provides 40 months of continued funding for the MSRI Undergraduate Program (MSRI-UP) at the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute. The MSRI-UP program includes (1) an annual six-week summer research experience for 18 undergraduate mathematics students from underrepresented groups working in research teams of three, (2) colloquia and professional development workshops, (3) presentations at national math conferences following the summer program, (4) an introduction to a wide community of peers and mentors, and (5) long-term follow-up and mentorship. The research efforts of participants will result in technical reports posted on MSRI’s website, oral presentations at a culminating symposium, and presentations at various national conferences. Of former MSRI-UP participants with bachelor’s degrees, 82% have continued into graduate programs, including 70% in doctoral programs. Though the program was only started in 2007, 45 alumni have gone on to earn MS degrees and 20 have completed PhDs. These achievements are especially noteworthy given the program’s focus on recruiting underserved students who are not clearly headed for a graduate program in mathematics and who are not high GPA students from elite high schools.

    To increase the number of students from underrepresented groups in mathematics graduate programs

    More
  • grantee: Fund for the City of New York
    amount: $350,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2017

    To improve local decision-making by building technical capacity in NYC borough president offices and community boards

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Noel Hidalgo

    Founded by civic technologist Noel Hidalgo, BetaNYC is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping key New York City constituencies take advantage of already-accessible open civic data. Hidalgo has identified New York’s borough president offices and community boards as particularly promising sites of leverage where better access to civic data could be of direct and immediate value to local governance, and where better technical literacy and capacity could tangibly improve New Yorkers’ experience of government. Among its programs, BetaNYC runs a Community Information Fellowship that places CUNY undergraduates in the Manhattan Borough President’s office, where they identify and work to fill gaps in technical expertise at the community board. This grant would build on that program to pilot a “Civic Innovation Lab” in the Borough President’s office that will build prototype solutions to data problems identified by these fellows. The grant is being made to the Fund for the City of New York, a not-for-profit that provides fiscal sponsorship and administrative support to charitable efforts aimed at benefiting the City and its residents.

    To improve local decision-making by building technical capacity in NYC borough president offices and community boards

    More
  • grantee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    amount: $500,000
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2017

    As a gift to MIT to establish a Fund in honor of Professor Paul Joskow to recognize his ten years of exemplary service as President of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Israel Ruiz

    The $500,000 grant to MIT will establish the Paul L. Joskow Fellowship Fund (the “Fund”) in honor of Paul L. Joskow, president of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation from 2008 through 2017. MIT will hold the grant as an endowment, allowing donors and others to add to the Fund at any time through gifts, donations, and distributions from trusts, estates, or other entities. MIT will use Fund income to provide financial support, including fellowship support, to graduate students studying energy economics, environmental economics, and industrial organization, in accordance with MIT graduate student financial assistance policies and procedures. Support may include funds for the acquisition of research data, for travel to professional meetings, and for other research-related outlays by the students. Recipients of fellowship assistance from the Fund shall be known as Paul L. Joskow Fellows. This grant was made on the occasion of Dr. Joskow’s retirement as President of the Sloan Foundation and in tribute to his decade of service to the Foundation and its mission.

    As a gift to MIT to establish a Fund in honor of Professor Paul Joskow to recognize his ten years of exemplary service as President of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

    More
  • grantee: Sundance Institute
    amount: $500,000
    city: Beverly Hills, CA
    year: 2017

    To support a science and technology film program at the nation's pre-eminent independent film center that includes screenwriting fellowships, feature film prizes, science and film panels, and associated outreach

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Michelle Satter

    This grant continues a Sloan partnership with the Sundance Film Institute for a series of initiatives that promote the development, production, and distribution of science-themed films. Annual initiatives include The Sloan Commissioning Grant, which is awarded to a screenwriter or producer with an early-stage science-themed project to support its development. The award includes a cash grant; a stipend for a science advisor and research; mentorship; and year?round staff support from Sundance. The Sloan Lab Fellowship in the Sundance Institute Feature Film Program, which supports the participation of a filmmaker and his or her science-themed script in the Screenwriters Lab, Screenwriters Intensive, or Creative Producing Summit; Winners participate in the Feature Film Fellows Track at the Sundance Film Festival and are eligible for additional Feature Film Program Labs. The fellowship also includes a grant to support the development of the project, including funds for science research and advice. The Sloan Lab Fellowship in the Sundance Institute Episodic Program, which supports a writer with an early-stage episodic project to support its development for television or online platforms. It includes a cash grant to support the development of the project, a stipend for a science advisor, and mentorship and other support from Sundance staff. The Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize, which is selected by a jury of film and science professionals. This award and accompanying cash prize is presented at the Sundance Film Festival to the writer and director of an outstanding feature film focusing on science or technology as a theme, or depicting a scientist, engineer, or mathematician as a major character. The Scienc-in-Film Forum at the Sundance Film Festival, which is a moderated panel discussion featuring independent filmmakers and leading scientists and technology experts. Grant funds support these initiatives and additional outreach, publicity, and administrative costs for a period of two years.

    To support a science and technology film program at the nation's pre-eminent independent film center that includes screenwriting fellowships, feature film prizes, science and film panels, and associated outreach

    More
  • grantee: Tribeca Film Institute
    amount: $830,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2017

    To build on the TFI Sloan Filmmaker Fund's success in developing new science films to production and to raise the profile of Sloan screenings, readings, and panels at the Tribeca Film Festival

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Molly O'Keefe

    Funds from this grant continue a partnership with the Tribeca Film Institute (TFI) to promote the development and release of science-themed films and support filmmakers who explore scientific or technological themes in their work. Each year, the TFI Sloan Filmmaker Fund issues an open call for new and established filmmakers to submit science-themed film treatments, finished screenplays, or works-in-progress. After a rigorous independent review process, 2-6 projects are selected each year for support. Winning projects receive between $10,000 and $75,000 to help usher the project toward completion. In addition, winners receive year-round support from TFI, including mentorship, workshops, readings, inclusion in the annual TFI Network market, and arranged industry meetings. TFI also hosts a highly publicized and well-attended screening and panel discussion of a science-themed film at the Tribeca Film Festival each year along with an associated reception. Lastly TFI is launching a new Alumni Discretionary Fund that will provide microgrants to previously supported projects, providing a critical intervention that helps ensure supported projects are continuing to move toward production and release. This grant provides support for these and related activities for a period of two years.

    To build on the TFI Sloan Filmmaker Fund's success in developing new science films to production and to raise the profile of Sloan screenings, readings, and panels at the Tribeca Film Festival

    More
  • grantee: SFFILM
    amount: $467,500
    city: San Francisco, CA
    year: 2017

    To nurture, develop, and champion films that explore scientific or technological themes and characters

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Noah Cowan

    This grant supports a series of activities by the San Francisco Film Society (SFFS) to nurture, develop, and champion films that explore scientific or technological themes and characters. Supported activities include the awarding of two $35,000 fellowships per year to promising screenwriters who are exploring scientific or technological themes in their work. In addition, SFFS will give an annual award, the Sloan Science in Cinema Prize, to the best science-themed feature film submitted to the the San Francisco Film Festival and will promote the winning film at the festival with a ceremony, screening, post-screening panel, and reception. The Festival will also host a yearly Since in Cinema Project Summit, which will bring together scientists and screenwriters to identify and publicize an annual “top ten” list of new scientific stories that would lend themselves to narrative screenplays. Lastly, SFFS will partner with the Blacklist to identify promising science-themed scripts and bring them to the attention of developers, producers, and other film industry executives. Grant funds support these activities and associated operational costs for the next two years.

    To nurture, develop, and champion films that explore scientific or technological themes and characters

    More
  • grantee: Coolidge Corner Theatre Foundation
    amount: $761,440
    city: Brookline, MA
    year: 2017

    To sustain and expand the national Science on Screen program, with a focus on enhanced web and social media promotion

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Katherine Tallman

    This grant provides two years of continued support for the Coolidge Corner Theatre Science on Screen series, a grant program that helps independent theaters across the country pair current, classic, cult, and documentary film screenings with thoughtful introductions by notable figures from the fields of science, technology, and medicine. Grant funds will allow Coolidge to make 56 grants to independent theaters over the next two years, bringing to 70 the number of participating cinemas across the country. Each theater in the Science on Screen series receives a grant of between $4,000-$8,500 to facilitate three screenings a year with expert STEM speakers, at least one of which is a film developed or awarded a prize through the Sloan Foundation’s Film program. Additional grant funds support a National Evening of Science on Screen in which all the participating theaters hold coordinated screenings as well as funds for marketing and promotion of the program, website improvement, SEO optimization, and social media outreach.

    To sustain and expand the national Science on Screen program, with a focus on enhanced web and social media promotion

    More
  • grantee: WNET
    amount: $750,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2017

    To support a two-hour public television broadcast of a multimedia live stage play about Albert Einstein’s journey to the general theory of relativity

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Television
    • Investigator David Horn

    This grant funds a project by WNET, working with physicist Brian Greene, the World Science Foundation, 59 Productions and CounterPunch Studios, to adapt the live stage piece “Light Falls: Space, Time, and an Obsession of Einstein” for broadcast on public television. The piece, which debuted at Lincoln Center during the 2016 World Science Festival and is narrated by Greene, traces Einstein’s journey to the discovery of the general theory of relativity. The piece walks the audience through the stages in Einstein’s journey—from his boyhood fascination with a compass to his desperate efforts to understand gravity to his fear that mathematician David Hilbert would beat him to the general theory. In addition to providing historical information about Einstein himself, the production will explain, explore, and make compelling key scientific ideas related to the general theory such as Lorentz contraction, time dilation, the equivalence principle, Riemannian geometry, and curved spacetime. The producers, working with the award-winning CounterPunch Studios, will also explore deploying a pioneering holographic rig that can generate a digital, life-like, three-dimensional rendering of Einstein so that Greene can interact and converse with a realistic looking historical figure. The completed production will be broadcast on the one hundredth anniversary of the 1919 solar eclipse measurements that confirmed Einstein’s theory and made him the most famous scientist in the world.

    To support a two-hour public television broadcast of a multimedia live stage play about Albert Einstein’s journey to the general theory of relativity

    More
  • grantee: Open Mind Legacy Project
    amount: $200,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2017

    To support eight to ten interviews with Sloan-supported authors and Sloan-related thinkers each year on The Open Mind

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Television
    • Investigator Alexander Heffner

    This grant provides two years of support for continued production and broadcast of Open Mind. Hosted by Alexander Heffner and broadcast on 214 PBS stations, Open Mind is a 30-minute, one-on-one interview show that dives deeply into a rich variety of topics pertinent to the public discourse. Grant funds will allow Heffner and the Open Mind team to interview five Foundation-supported science and technology authors per year, allowing them to discuss their books and the ideas behind them in a thoughtful and engaging public forum. An additional 3-5 interviews per year will focus on topics of Sloan Foundation interest such as the Digital Public Library of America, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, or the economics of the aging workforce. Additional grant funds support efforts to improve the reach of the program, including expanded outreach on social media and enhanced promotion of the Open Mind podcast.

    To support eight to ten interviews with Sloan-supported authors and Sloan-related thinkers each year on The Open Mind

    More
  • grantee: University of Colorado, Boulder
    amount: $1,251,611
    city: Boulder, CO
    year: 2017

    To initiate the development of community building and data infrastructure for the CIE program through HOMEChem, an interdisciplinary collaborative field experiment

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Chemistry of Indoor Environments
    • Investigator Marina Vance

    This grant funds a project led by Assistant Professor Marina Vance of the University of Colorado, Boulder, in collaboration with Associate Professor Delphine Farmer of Colorado State University to initiate the development of a data infrastructure for the field of indoor chemistry through an interdisciplinary collaborative field experiment named “House Observations of Microbial and Environmental Chemistry” (HOMEChem). The HOMEChem experiment will take place at a test house at the University of Texas at Austin in the summer of 2018, where researchers from 9 universities will aim to identify the most important factors controlling chemistry in indoor environments. Teams from each of these nine universities will make a wide range of measurements of the test house, including building and ventilation metrics; environmental parameters; spectral radiance and photolysis rates; aerosol concentrations and size distributions; aerosol composition; and the presence or absence of elemental and oxidized carbon, gas and particle phase organics, nitrogen oxides, ozone, nitrous acid, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and methane. Many of these factors will be the subject of multiple measurements by more than one instrument, allowing comparison of instruments and collection methodologies. In addition, Vance and Farmer will conduct controlled experiments regarding cooking and cleaning, so see how these common household activities affect the chemistry that takes place inside the house. The HOMEChem experiment promises not only to result in new knowledge about indoor chemistry, but to surface important issues regarding shared data and metadata needs among indoor chemists and to build community as the various research teams work together to execute the experiment and interpret their joint findings. Research results will be shared through at least eight publications and twenty presentations at high-profile sessions and plenaries at national and international meetings.

    To initiate the development of community building and data infrastructure for the CIE program through HOMEChem, an interdisciplinary collaborative field experiment

    More
  • grantee: Marine Biological Laboratory
    amount: $1,250,000
    city: Woods Hole, MA
    year: 2017

    To integrate and synthesize the activities of the Deep Life community of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Mitchell Sogin

    Funds from this grant provide two years of operational and research support to the Deep Life Community of the Deep Carbon Observatory. Led by US microbiologist Mitch Sogin and German biogeochemist Kai Hinrichs, the Deep Life Community is a global collaborative network of some 250 researchers working together to enhance our understanding of the nature, distribution, abundance, and limits of the deep biosphere. Funds from this grant will allow the Deep Life Community to conclude its research as the Deep Carbon Observatory approaches its planned conclusion in 2019, as well as begin integrative work to synthesize the community’s findings with the work of the larger DCO community. Grant funds will support the completion of three major sampling studies: one in mainland Oman, one in the Atlantis Massif on the north Atlantic seafloor, and one in the Nankai Trough off the coast of Japan. Other funded research includes the completion of a “Census of Deep Life” that draws on deep life surveys of more than 90 locations worldwide. In addition, the Deep Life community continue laboratory studies of “extreme biophysics” that probe how biological molecules behave at high temperatures and pressures. Finally, the Deep Life Community will contribute several chapters to the technical volume that will summarize the entire body of DCO work and will contribute to the Deep Earth Carbon modeling initiative that provides integrative frameworks for the many faces of the DCO. The modeling has the exciting, maximal aim to predict the distribution of all deep life on Earth in space and time.

    To integrate and synthesize the activities of the Deep Life community of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Los Angeles
    amount: $1,250,000
    city: Los Angeles, CA
    year: 2017

    To lead and synthesize the activities of the Extreme Physics and Chemistry community of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Craig Manning

    Funds from this grant provide two years of operational and research support to the Extreme Physics and Chemistry Community of the Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO). The Extreme Physics and Chemistry community is a global network of researchers working together to better our understanding of the physical and chemical properties of carbon in the high temperature, high pressure environments characteristic of the deep Earth. Led by geophysicist Wendy Mao of Stanford and geologist Craig Manning of UCLA, the community is concerned with the 90% of Earth’s carbon that resides in the interior as solids, magmas and melts, and low density fluids. It addresses the transformations that occur both as carbon rises from the core to the mantle to the crust and also as surface carbon is subducted beneath the crust and subjected to extraordinary temperatures and pressures. Grant funds will support research and administrative costs of the Extreme Chemistry community as it moves towards the planned conclusion of the DCO in 2019, with the majority of funds supporting a network of postdoctoral research associates at 20 participating institutions. Other funds support workshops, “hackathons,” and computational simulation and modeling work associated with integrating insights from the community with discoveries by the larger DCO community.

    To lead and synthesize the activities of the Extreme Physics and Chemistry community of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    More
  • grantee: University of Oregon
    amount: $1,000,000
    city: Eugene, OR
    year: 2017

    To provide final renewed support for the Biology and the Built Environment (BioBE) Center

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Kevin Wymelenberg

    This grant provides research and operating support for the Biology of the Built Environment (BioBE) Center at the University of Oregon. Founded in 2010 with Sloan support, the BioBE Center conductsc research on the indoor microbiome and provides education about the microbiology of built environments. This grant provides continuing support for the Center’s ongoing outreach, research, and training activities and promotes Center efforts to implement a sustainable financing model that integrates their work with industry practice. BioBE’s central research question is: how does the design and operation of the built environment impact the built environment microbiome? The BioBE team has planned a series of experiments organized around three primary architectural decision realms that each have implications for health, energy-efficiency, and microbiome composition and function: (1) design for air (moving air for contaminant removal and thermal tempering), (2) light (illumination for visual tasks and definition of form), and (3) material selection (finish, substrates, and structure). Other funded work under this grant includes plans to expand and strengthen the nascent Health and Energy Industry Consortium, a group of 75 companies, professional firms, academics, and associations, and plans to educate undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students in architecture/biology about how design impacts the microbiome of built environments. The Center will also increase interdisciplinary course offerings that create new methodological approaches to education at the architecture-biology interface.  

    To provide final renewed support for the Biology and the Built Environment (BioBE) Center

    More
  • grantee: Astrophysical Research Consortium
    amount: $16,000,000
    city: Seattle, WA
    year: 2017

    To undertake the Sloan Digital Sky Survey V (SDSS-V), which will utilize all-sky spectroscopic observations to explain the genesis of the Milky Way and its neighbors, comprehensively test stellar astrophysics and star-planet relations, probe supermassive black hole physics, and map, on unprecedented scales, the Milky Way’s interstellar gas and that of nearby galaxies

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Sloan Digital Sky Survey
    • Investigator Juna Kollmeier

    This grant provides partial support for the planning and implementation of the fifth research phase of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-V). The five-year project aims to use two telescopes (one in New Mexico and one in Chile) fitted with state of the art spectroscopic instruments to answer fundamental questions in astronomy, astrophysics, and cosmology about the forces shaping the origin, structure, and future of galaxies; the nature of supermassive black holes; and how regions between stars and galaxies, known as the interstellar medium, impact how these celestial objects form and grow. SDSS-V will be the most extensive spectroscopic observatory program in operation through the middle of the next decade. Over the course of five years, it will collect infrared spectra of over six million stars in the Milky Way (an order of magnitude more than have ever been observed), optical spectra of over 400,000 black holes, and over 25 million optical spectra of interstellar gas. As with previous phases, all data collected by SDSS-V will be released to both the scientific community and the general public under open principles, allowing non-affiliated scientists and stargazers alike to partake in SDSS discoveries. Planned technological improvements to the SDSS telescopes will make it one of the only observation programs capable of enhancing, complementing, and making the best use of data from other large astronomical surveys. Both SDSS-V telescopes will be equipped with rapidly reconfigurable fiber positioning technologies that will reduce the time it takes to collect object spectra from hours down to minutes. This will allow the SDSS to rapidly shift its focus and observe interstellar phenomena identified by the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, the Kepler and TESS space missions, the Gaia space mission, and the eROSITA satellite. This grant provides approximately 25 percent of the total SDSS-V project budget and includes funds for project infrastructure and planning, research, instrumentation and technology development, and outreach and education. The remainder of funds will be raised from within the scientific community.

    To undertake the Sloan Digital Sky Survey V (SDSS-V), which will utilize all-sky spectroscopic observations to explain the genesis of the Milky Way and its neighbors, comprehensively test stellar astrophysics and star-planet relations, probe supermassive black hole physics, and map, on unprecedented scales, the Milky Way’s interstellar gas and that of nearby galaxies

    More
  • grantee: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    amount: $971,750
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2017

    To examine the link between the receding retirement age of older workers and the shifts in demand for these workers associated with the expansion of artificial intelligence and robotic substitutes

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Richard Freeman

    Funds from this grant support research by Harvard economist Richard Freeman that will link and then analyze 16 different data sets in order to examine the relationship between the increased employment/postponement of retirement by older workers and shifts in the demand for these workers associated with the changing composition of industries and the expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic automation. Freeman will examine differences in employment and earnings of these workers by gender, education, health status, and income, and by industry, occupation, and firm and will study the impacts of these technologies on earnings, as well as employment. Overall, this project seeks to identify new patterns of work and retirement, determine their effect on worker well-being, and project whether these patterns are likely to continue among younger cohorts as they age. In addition to his own analysis, Freeman will commission 10 additional papers from leading economists using this new linked dataset, which will then be made available for public access through application to the Census Bureau research centers. All papers will be published as NBER Working Papers and submitted for publication in leading peer-reviewed journals.

    To examine the link between the receding retirement age of older workers and the shifts in demand for these workers associated with the expansion of artificial intelligence and robotic substitutes

    More
  • grantee: National Opinion Research Center
    amount: $285,804
    city: Chicago, IL
    year: 2017

    To increase the amount and quality of news coverage of the economics of working longer, by training fellows in economics and data-driven journalism and by supporting the development of an original survey and enhanced coverage

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Trevor Tompson

    This grant provides twenty months of continued support for a partnership between National Opinion Research Center (NORC) and the Associated Press (AP) to marry NORC’s research expertise with AP’s media reach to create a vehicle for promoting public understanding of the barriers and facilitators, as well as the causes and patterns, to people working beyond conventional retirement age in the United States. Funds from this grant will provide twenty months of salary support to a NORC-AP journalism fellow, who is selected through a competitive application process. The fellowwill cover the older work force beat, producing thoughtful, scientifically informed, high-quality articles on a variety of issues at the intersection of aging and work, including retirement, work and health, productivity, older workers and the gig economy, and the economic impact of an aging work force on businesses, pensions, and government programs like Social Security. In addition, NORC will field a high-quality, nationally representative survey of older adults about issues facing older workers with the results distributed nationwide through the AP. Survey reporting will be supplemented with reporting on new economic research on the older work force and survey data will be made freely available to researchers in a public-use dataset.

    To increase the amount and quality of news coverage of the economics of working longer, by training fellows in economics and data-driven journalism and by supporting the development of an original survey and enhanced coverage

    More
  • grantee: University of Maryland, College Park
    amount: $46,500
    city: College Park, MD
    year: 2017

    Support for Jason Farman’s Waiting for Word: How Message Delays Have Shaped History, Love, Technology, and Everything We Know, a book about technologies of communication, to be published by Yale University Press in late 2018/early 2019

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Jason Farman

    Support for Jason Farman’s Waiting for Word: How Message Delays Have Shaped History, Love, Technology, and Everything We Know, a book about technologies of communication, to be published by Yale University Press in late 2018/early 2019

    More
  • grantee: Rockaway Waterfront Alliance, Inc.
    amount: $20,000
    city: Far Rockaway, NY
    year: 2017

    To provide partial support for the Environmentor Program, a science research internship program

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Jeanne DuPont

    To provide partial support for the Environmentor Program, a science research internship program

    More
  • grantee: Academy Foundation
    amount: $20,000
    city: Beverly Hills, CA
    year: 2017

    To support the Academy of Motions Pictures Art and Sciences and its Sci-Tech Council in a screening and panel discussion of Hidden Figures, presented in collaboration with NASA

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program New Media
    • Investigator Andrew Maltz

    To support the Academy of Motions Pictures Art and Sciences and its Sci-Tech Council in a screening and panel discussion of Hidden Figures, presented in collaboration with NASA

    More
  • grantee: FORCE11
    amount: $20,000
    city: San Diego, CA
    year: 2017

    To partially support the 2017 Future of Research Communication and eScholarship meeting

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Cameron Neylon

    To partially support the 2017 Future of Research Communication and eScholarship meeting

    More
  • grantee: Columbia University
    amount: $125,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2017

    To study the general equilibrium effects on labor markets due to robots

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Economic Analysis of Science and Technology (EAST)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Edmund Phelps

    To study the general equilibrium effects on labor markets due to robots

    More
  • grantee: Haverford College
    amount: $63,112
    city: Haverford, PA
    year: 2017

    To study causes and consequences of occupational exit by scientists and engineers

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Economic Analysis of Science and Technology (EAST)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Anne Preston

    To study causes and consequences of occupational exit by scientists and engineers

    More
  • grantee: Harvard University
    amount: $80,000
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2017

    To organize interdisciplinary studies of the scientific research enterprise, including how inputs produce the outputs

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Economic Analysis of Science and Technology (EAST)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Karim Lakhani

    To organize interdisciplinary studies of the scientific research enterprise, including how inputs produce the outputs

    More
  • grantee: University of Wisconsin System
    amount: $125,000
    city: Madison, WI
    year: 2017

    To build a new user interface and database for the Small World Initiative (SWI) and train graduate students to teach with the big data sets gathered through SWI course-sourcing on antibiotics produced by newly isolated soil bacteria

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Jo Handelsman

    To build a new user interface and database for the Small World Initiative (SWI) and train graduate students to teach with the big data sets gathered through SWI course-sourcing on antibiotics produced by newly isolated soil bacteria

    More
  • grantee: National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, Inc.
    amount: $120,750
    city: White Plains, NY
    year: 2017

    To provide emergency funding for up to 35 continuing Sloan Scholars at the University of Puerto Rico at the Mayaguez and Rio Piedras campuses to enable progress toward their doctoral degrees following Hurricane Maria

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Christopher Smith

    To provide emergency funding for up to 35 continuing Sloan Scholars at the University of Puerto Rico at the Mayaguez and Rio Piedras campuses to enable progress toward their doctoral degrees following Hurricane Maria

    More
  • grantee: University College London
    amount: $70,000
    city: London, United Kingdom
    year: 2017

    To conduct a workshop and publish a special journal issue on catastrophic perturbations to Earth’s deep carbon

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Adrian Jones

    To conduct a workshop and publish a special journal issue on catastrophic perturbations to Earth’s deep carbon

    More
  • grantee: Ithaka Harbors Inc
    amount: $20,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2017

    To support the pilot convening of the William G. Bowen Colloquium

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Catharine Hill

    To support the pilot convening of the William G. Bowen Colloquium

    More
  • grantee: GuideStar USA, Inc.
    amount: $10,000
    city: Williamsburg, VA
    year: 2017

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Beth Suarez

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    More
  • grantee: American Friends of Toulouse School of Economics
    amount: $50,000
    city: Salisbury, MD
    year: 2017

    To support two annual conferences organized by the Toulouse School of Economics Centre on Energy and Climate Change

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Stefan Ambec

    To support two annual conferences organized by the Toulouse School of Economics Centre on Energy and Climate Change

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Berkeley
    amount: $124,997
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2017

    To continue to train highly qualified Ph.D. graduate students from across North America in energy and environmental economics topics and techniques through an advanced summer training program

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Maximilian Auffhammer

    To continue to train highly qualified Ph.D. graduate students from across North America in energy and environmental economics topics and techniques through an advanced summer training program

    More
  • grantee: Council on Foreign Relations
    amount: $25,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2017

    To organize a study group and roundtable series of meetings to better understand how the United States energy system will evolve in the coming decades, with a focus on exploring the impact of advanced digital technologies and related geopolitical implications

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Amy Myers Jaffe

    To organize a study group and roundtable series of meetings to better understand how the United States energy system will evolve in the coming decades, with a focus on exploring the impact of advanced digital technologies and related geopolitical implications

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Berkeley
    amount: $60,000
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2017

    To organize a conference for academics, policymakers, and practitioners to celebrate the contributions to energy economics of Paul L. Joskow

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Catherine Wolfram

    To organize a conference for academics, policymakers, and practitioners to celebrate the contributions to energy economics of Paul L. Joskow

    More
  • grantee: United States Association for Energy Economics
    amount: $10,000
    city: Cleveland, OH
    year: 2017

    To support the participation of graduate students at the Ph.D. Day event to be held at the 2017 North American conference in Houston, Texas

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Anastasia Shcherbakova

    To support the participation of graduate students at the Ph.D. Day event to be held at the 2017 North American conference in Houston, Texas

    More
  • grantee: Code for America Labs Inc.
    amount: $20,000
    city: San Francisco, CA
    year: 2017

    To partially support the 2017 Code for America Brigade Summit

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Christopher Whitaker

    To partially support the 2017 Code for America Brigade Summit

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Los Angeles
    amount: $45,000
    city: Los Angeles, CA
    year: 2017

    To support the inaugural Gordon Research Conference on deep carbon science as a legacy of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Craig Manning

    To support the inaugural Gordon Research Conference on deep carbon science as a legacy of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    More
  • grantee: Cornell University
    amount: $45,065
    city: Ithaca, NY
    year: 2017

    To support research for and writing of Data Driven: Truckers and the New Workplace Surveillance (Princeton University Press 2018), a book about digital surveillance of long-haul truckers and digital surveillance in the workplace

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Karen Levy

    To support research for and writing of Data Driven: Truckers and the New Workplace Surveillance (Princeton University Press 2018), a book about digital surveillance of long-haul truckers and digital surveillance in the workplace

    More
  • grantee: American Indian Science and Engineering Society
    amount: $20,000
    city: Albuquerque, NM
    year: 2017

    To provide partial support for the Undergraduate Research Competition at the 2017 and 2018 AISES National Conferences to highlight the research efforts of Native youth and establish connections with SIGP institutions

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Kathy DeerInWater

    To provide partial support for the Undergraduate Research Competition at the 2017 and 2018 AISES National Conferences to highlight the research efforts of Native youth and establish connections with SIGP institutions

    More
  • grantee: Columbia University
    amount: $50,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2017

    To providing continuing support for the Center on Global Energy Policy’s external speaker series and roundtable discussions to increase overall knowledge and understanding of key energy issues and trends

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Jason Bordoff

    To providing continuing support for the Center on Global Energy Policy’s external speaker series and roundtable discussions to increase overall knowledge and understanding of key energy issues and trends

    More
  • grantee: University of Michigan
    amount: $20,000
    city: Ann Arbor, MI
    year: 2017

    To support a symposium for researchers, policymakers, and financial experts that will highlight interactions between behavioral economics and macroeconomics

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Behavioral and Regulatory Effects on Decision-making (BRED)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Michael Barr

    To support a symposium for researchers, policymakers, and financial experts that will highlight interactions between behavioral economics and macroeconomics

    More
  • grantee: Tufts University
    amount: $20,000
    city: Medford, MA
    year: 2017

    To support a mathematical workshop on the Geometry of Redistricting

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Moon Duchin

    To support a mathematical workshop on the Geometry of Redistricting

    More
  • grantee: Harvard University
    amount: $20,000
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2017

    To support the Third Annual Conference on Big Data at the Harvard Center for Mathematical Sciences and Applications

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Shing-Tung Yau

    To support the Third Annual Conference on Big Data at the Harvard Center for Mathematical Sciences and Applications

    More
  • grantee: Ainissa Ramirez
    amount: $27,500
    city: New Haven, CT
    year: 2017

    To support research for and writing of The Alchemy of Us: How Matter and Humans Transformed One Another (MIT Press 2018), a book about how human engineering and the invention of 8 key material devices changed our lives

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Ainissa Ramirez

    To support research for and writing of The Alchemy of Us: How Matter and Humans Transformed One Another (MIT Press 2018), a book about how human engineering and the invention of 8 key material devices changed our lives

    More
  • grantee: Open Space Institute
    amount: $25,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2017

    To implement technology upgrades to the Cultural Performance Center at Harlem’s Riverbank State Park

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Erik Kulleseid

    To implement technology upgrades to the Cultural Performance Center at Harlem’s Riverbank State Park

    More
  • grantee: Columbia University
    amount: $15,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2017

    To support a meeting on offline data transfer networks

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Mark Hansen

    To support a meeting on offline data transfer networks

    More
  • grantee: National Academy of Sciences
    amount: $20,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2017

    To support the third in a series of Sackler Colloquia on the Science of Science Communication, to be held November 16 and 17, 2017

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program New Media
    • Investigator Barbara Pope

    To support the third in a series of Sackler Colloquia on the Science of Science Communication, to be held November 16 and 17, 2017

    More
  • grantee: American Associates of the National Theatre
    amount: $10,820
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2017

    To commission a play about Hungarian physician Ignaz Semmelweis and his breakthrough discovery on the importance of antiseptic practices in medicine, to be written by playwright Stephen Brown and potentially produced by the National Theatre

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Theater
    • Investigator Emily Anstead

    To commission a play about Hungarian physician Ignaz Semmelweis and his breakthrough discovery on the importance of antiseptic practices in medicine, to be written by playwright Stephen Brown and potentially produced by the National Theatre

    More
  • grantee: Harvard University
    amount: $20,000
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2017

    To identify principles for conducting retrospective review of energy and environmental regulations

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Joseph Aldy

    To identify principles for conducting retrospective review of energy and environmental regulations

    More
  • grantee: National Academy of Sciences
    amount: $20,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2017

    To provide final support to the Roundtable on Unconventional Hydrocarbon Development

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Elizabeth Eide

    To provide final support to the Roundtable on Unconventional Hydrocarbon Development

    More
  • grantee: University of Michigan
    amount: $9,625
    city: Ann Arbor, MI
    year: 2017

    To facilitate the participation of undergraduate and graduate students at the 2017 Transportation, Economics, Energy and the Environment (TE3) conference

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Mark Barteau

    To facilitate the participation of undergraduate and graduate students at the 2017 Transportation, Economics, Energy and the Environment (TE3) conference

    More
  • grantee: University of Maryland, College Park
    amount: $43,000
    city: College Park, MD
    year: 2017

    To support the research and writing of a graphic non-fiction book on space-time, relativity, and gravity to be published by Princeton University Press

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Jeffrey Bub

    To support the research and writing of a graphic non-fiction book on space-time, relativity, and gravity to be published by Princeton University Press

    More
  • grantee: Seth Fletcher
    amount: $25,000
    city: Croton-on-Hudson, NY
    year: 2017

    To support research for and writing of Einstein’s Shadow: A Black Hole, A Band of Astronomers, and the Quest to See the Unseeable (Ecco Press 2018), a book about the Event Horizon Telescope and the quest to capture the first direct image of a black hole

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Seth Fletcher

    To support research for and writing of Einstein’s Shadow: A Black Hole, A Band of Astronomers, and the Quest to See the Unseeable (Ecco Press 2018), a book about the Event Horizon Telescope and the quest to capture the first direct image of a black hole

    More
  • grantee: University of Oxford
    amount: $65,000
    city: Oxford, United Kingdom
    year: 2017

    To streamline the publication workflow for data papers

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Neil Jefferies

    To streamline the publication workflow for data papers

    More
  • grantee: University of Minnesota
    amount: $42,500
    city: Minneapolis, MN
    year: 2017

    To support three panels and associated papers at the National Conference on the 50th Anniversary of the Kerner Commission Report that explore the consequences of the 1968 civil disorders with a special focus on the production of minority economists

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Samuel Myers

    To support three panels and associated papers at the National Conference on the 50th Anniversary of the Kerner Commission Report that explore the consequences of the 1968 civil disorders with a special focus on the production of minority economists

    More
  • grantee: New York University
    amount: $20,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2017

    To provide partial support for the Cyber Security program for High School Women

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Phyllis Frankl

    To provide partial support for the Cyber Security program for High School Women

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Los Angeles
    amount: $1,250,000
    city: Los Angeles, CA
    year: 2017

    To complete and synthesize the work of the Deep Energy community of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Edward Young

    The grant provides two years of support to Deep Energy (DE) community of the Deep Carbon Observatory. Representing 176 researchers in 32 nations, the group is about half from the United States and half from the rest of the world, the Deep Energy Community is the branch of the DCO that examines the abundance, distribution, and origins of deep Earth abiotic hydrocarbons and the reactions between energy and rock that produce energy. Grant funds will provide research support to the community as it completes a set of eight initiatives on reduced carbon formation, the fate of reduced carbon, confined hydrogen behavior, isotopic bond ordering of methane, ocean floor serpentinization, Precambrian cratons, analysis of sediment cores taken from a drilling site in Oman, and monitoring of subsurface microbial activity rates. The last project, joint with the Deep Carbon Observatory’s Deep Life community, aims to determine how rapidly changes in subsurface metabolic activity occur in response to seismic events. (In plain words, earthquakes might cause deep microbial blooms.) Along with completing these studies, the DE community would carry out a range of activities to synthesize and integrate the component activities, including through the DCO’s collective effort to create a system of models of deep Earth carbon.

    To complete and synthesize the work of the Deep Energy community of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    More
  • grantee: University of California, San Diego
    amount: $750,000
    city: La Jolla, CA
    year: 2017

    To develop and disseminate techniques for 3D mapping of the microbiology and metabolism of built environments

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Robin Knight

    This grant to professor Rob Knight and Pieter Dorrenstein at the University of California San Diego funds efforts to develop and disseminate techniques for 3D mapping of the microbiology and metabolism of built environments. Knight and Dorrenstein will use commodity scanning and motion capture systems to build 3D models of built environments, track microbial movement through a room, and identify hundreds of swab locations in 3D space automatically. They also plan to upgrade QIITA (https://qiita.ucsd.edu/), the open source microbial study management platform, to include “living data” concepts from the Global Natural products Social Network (GNPS), allowing re-annotation of MoBE datasets and connection of 3D maps with microbes and molecules from thousands of other studies. They will also produce scans of at least eight visually and scientifically compelling built environments. To reach these objectives, the University of California, San Diego, team plans to develop and disseminate improved integrated software tools. They will produce a pipeline and kit for collecting datasets and producing 3D maps, which will then be tested by MoBE community members. They expect to create a set of visually and technically compelling maps of built environmental spaces in 3D, with sequence and metabolite information. They plan to share the information online through websites, blogs, and conference presentations. They plan to train at least 30 graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty and/or research staff through two workshops. Knight and Dorrenstein will share their research and findings through peer-reviewed publications. The expected outcome of this proposal is new, high-quality 3D maps of built environments that help future funders and stakeholders better visualize and understand the microbiology of the built environment.

    To develop and disseminate techniques for 3D mapping of the microbiology and metabolism of built environments

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Davis
    amount: $784,007
    city: Davis, CA
    year: 2017

    To provide final renewed support for the Microbiology of the Built Environment Network (microBEnet)

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Jonathan Eisen

    This grant provides two years of operational support for the operation and enhancement of microbe.net, a website that provides services to the diverse community of researchers working at the intersection of microbiology and the built environment. Over the next two years, a team led by Jonathan Eisen at the University of California, Davis, plan to sustain the role of microBEnet as a critical hub for the field; develop and disseminate education, training, and outreach materials that will help sustain the MoBE field; build partnerships around key reference data sets in order to attract new methods, investigators, and collaborations in the field; develop synergistic interactions with other MoBE projects; and move microBEnet toward independent, long-term sustainability. The work plan includes further expansion of the network of site contributors and users. Eisen also plans to develop MoBE course materials; collect and post MoBE research protocols, conference reports, and unpublished white papers; support the addition of a MoBE component to existing Citizen Science projects; and encourage community members to curate Wikipedia pages on MoBE topics. In addition, Eisen plans to continue sequencing efforts to leverage reference datasets (genomes, metagenomics, and 16S rRNA surveys) to draw in new people to the field.

    To provide final renewed support for the Microbiology of the Built Environment Network (microBEnet)

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Riverside
    amount: $499,480
    city: Riverside, CA
    year: 2017

    To support continued development of a browser-based interactive platform for exploring -omic datasets

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Holly Bik

    Bioinformaticist Holly Bik was particularly interested in broadening the ability of metagenomics researchers to take advantage of data visualization in order to explore and understand population distributions. With Sloan support, Bik developed Phinch, a web-based visualization platform that easily integrates with common tools like QIIME. This grant provides three years of funding to Bik to scale up Phinch and grow its user base into a sustainable community-supported software project. Her plan is to begin with a user workshop to refine already-collected requirements from existing users and metagenomics pipeline maintainers, then move back into active development. The technical goals laid out for the platform include the integration of statistical tools into visualization interfaces, an important step to help researchers move from exploration of data through visualization into more robust analysis.

    To support continued development of a browser-based interactive platform for exploring -omic datasets

    More
  • grantee: New York University
    amount: $550,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2017

    To support the development of and data exchange between Datavyu (a tool for video coding) and Databrary (a platform for archiving and controlled sharing of video data)

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Karen Adolph

    In the behavioral sciences, fields like child development and behavioral ecology often rely on video as a primary source of research data. The major research repositories of behavioral video, however, do not have much more sophistication than YouTube, relying on keywords and transcripts for discovery and failing to leverage incredibly sophisticated coding data into analytic tools. Karen Adolph at NYU and Rick Gilmore of Penn State are accomplished psychologists who are responsible for developing a leading video coding tool, the open source Datavyu, and an innovative platform for behavioral video archiving, Databrary. The former is notable for its flexibility and fine-grained resolution, and the latter for its ability to set precise access controls to comply with the myriad restrictions related to the use of human subjects of the projects whose data it hosts. This grant supports an 18-month project by Adolph and Gilmore to use Datavyu and Databrary to model integration between coding tools and data repositories more generally. Since both platforms are open source and have active user communities, they are excellent candidates to prototype how standards-compliant coding data might be transferred into a data repository alongside its raw video, and how that repository might then leverage that coding data into new discovery and analytic interfaces. This work could generalize to a host of other coding tools, not to mention the handful of other social science data archives like ICPSR and Dataverse that are tentatively moving into hosting behavioral video data.

    To support the development of and data exchange between Datavyu (a tool for video coding) and Databrary (a platform for archiving and controlled sharing of video data)

    More
  • grantee: Julia Computing
    amount: $912,609
    city: Newton, MA
    year: 2017

    To support the continued development of the Julia programming language

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Viral Shah

    Developed by a small group of MIT computer science students, Julia was designed to be the “Goldilocks” of computer programming languages, combining the ease of use of high level languages like R or Python with the computing power of workhorse languages like C or Fortran. Julia has steadily grown in popularity since its 2012 release and has found particularly enthusiastic use in economics and finance. Further improving the language however, requires addressing several key pain points for research users. Funds from this grant support a project to update the Julia language and substantially improve usability for researchers by improving documentation and error messaging, building a substantially faster compiler, and developing a package manager to facilitate the discovery and use of third-party extensions. In addition, this grant includes resources for a concerted push to diversify the currently overwhelmingly white and male Julia developer community. Testing the application of models that have been successful in other open source software projects, the team will devote substantial effort to engagement with women and underrepresented minority groups, and offer travel subsidies for participation in Julia events to diversify its community.

    To support the continued development of the Julia programming language

    More
  • grantee: The University of Chicago
    amount: $750,000
    city: Chicago, IL
    year: 2017

    To study how the choice of computational tools such as programming languages and data-analysis environments impacts their users

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator James Evans

    In linguistics, the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis holds that the structure of a language affects its speakers’ world view and modes of thought. University of Chicago computational sociologist James Evans and University of Wisconsin cognitive scientist Gary Lupyan hypothesize that a version of this hypothesis applies to programming languages. They propose to explore the “cognitive and social consequences of programming and data analysis environment” choices, specifically how the characteristics of programming languages might influence a developer’s efficiency, creativity, and collaboration. To evaluate this hypothesis, Evans and Lupyan will undertake exploratory studies of observational data on software development broadly then then look more closely at specific cases in scientific software development. They will use large-scale project data from GitHub to determine which specific features of programming languages (e.g., static vs. dynamic variable typing) might be best operationalized as independent variables that influence the ways in which developers think and work. They will then test the hypotheses that surface through that exploratory work using a series of comparative-language experiments to be run in constrained development environments, including the Jupyter Notebook platform. Grant funds provide three years of research support for the project.

    To study how the choice of computational tools such as programming languages and data-analysis environments impacts their users

    More
  • grantee: Rochester Institute of Technology
    amount: $470,458
    city: Rochester, NY
    year: 2017

    To develop a mathematically-aware search engine for popular use by both students and experts

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Richard Zanibbi

    A “math aware” search engine is exactly what it sounds like, a search engine that speaks and understands the language of mathematics. It would be able to locate not only words on pages, but to identify and recognize mathematical symbols, expressions, equations, formulas, and theorems. This is harder than it sounds, since common mathematical symbols can take on special meanings depending on the context in which they appear. This grant funds work by computer scientists Richard Zanibbi and Lee Giles to create an easy to use, fully math aware search engine. Zanibbi and Giles plan to develop state-of-the-art methods for extracting, indexing and retrieving math in documents; develop algorithms for the recognition of handwritten math and math captured in images; and implement these in a user-friendly interface with helpful features like autocompletion of common queries. The new engine will then be tested on Wikipedia and on CiteSeerX, an open-source repository of academic papers. The completed search engine, if successful, would vastly expand the possibilities of discovered for amateur and professional mathematicians alike, with numerous applications in both research and education.

    To develop a mathematically-aware search engine for popular use by both students and experts

    More
  • grantee: Association of Research Libraries
    amount: $315,100
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2017

    To develop and disseminate a Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Software Preservation

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Krista Cox

    This grant funds an initiative by the Association of Research Libraries to document and clarify copyright and intellectual property law issues related to the archiving of software. Led by intellectual property lawyer, Peter Jaszi, the initiative has three parts. First, Jaszi and a team of collaborators will undertake a broad literature review and conduct some 40 long-form interviews with legal experts, librarians, museum curators, software developers and other stakeholders to produce “a report on problems that arise in software preservation regarding issues of copyright and fair use.” The report will then become the basis for a set of small workshops to generate, after legal review, a code of reasonable best practices used by archivists to resolve those problems. Finally, a substantial outreach push will build community consensus in support of those best practices. The work will be stewarded by the Association of Research Libraries, whose membership has a strong interest in this area, but will also draw heavily on the museum community, as well as major professional organizations in computer science, and other computationally intensive disciplines. The effort promises the legal state-of-play surrounding several thorny intellectual property issues related to software archiving, promote better archival practices across the country and further the cause of reproducibility in research, which depends on the continued availability of software used to generate scientific results.

    To develop and disseminate a Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Software Preservation

    More
  • grantee: Columbia University
    amount: $490,298
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2017

    To integrate behavioral insights into the foundations of standard macroeconomic models by re-examining the role of the Euler equation

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Behavioral and Regulatory Effects on Decision-making (BRED)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Emi Nakamura

    How do people decide between consuming more today and saving more for the future? Mainstream macroeconomists have one answer: the Euler Equation. Simply put, it says that an optimizing agent will consume today up to the point where adding one more unit now would provide the same utility that could be expected if consuming that extra unit were deferred until tomorrow instead. In principle, the attitude expressed by the Euler Equation seems reasonable enough. Surely if you knew that having a second dessert right now, for example, would not be as enjoyable as having that dessert tomorrow, you would do well to wait. Yet as a practical matter, such calculations are difficult or impossible for individuals to make. And we all know from experience that hardly anyone ever tries. Real people rely on heuristics at best, and are sometimes not only inconsistent but also self-defeating. The Euler Equation also has theoretical implications that limit its applicability to the real world. For instance, to a population governed by the Euler Equation, the timing of consumption does not depend on when income arrives. So Euler populations will not alter their behavior in response income events like tax cuts. But clearly people in the real world do so alter their behavior. This grant funds the research of Emi Nakamura and Jon Steinsson of Columbia University to test alternatives to the Euler Equation against a uniquely comprehensive dataset of the consumer behavior of the residents of Iceland, which has Iceland has usefully kept records of nearly every financial transaction in the country. The goal is to devise a replacement for the Euler Equation and to create new macroeconomic models that are both less naпve and more useful in predicting consumer behavior in the real world.

    To integrate behavioral insights into the foundations of standard macroeconomic models by re-examining the role of the Euler equation

    More
  • grantee: Brookings Institution
    amount: $632,355
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2017

    To promote independent, unbiased, and nonpartisan economic research on regulatory economics

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Behavioral and Regulatory Effects on Decision-making (BRED)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Ted Gayer

    Effective government regulations can improve citizens’ health, safety, and financial well-being and reduce market imperfections. On the other hand, regulations that are poorly designed or implemented can impair markets, impose burdens, and impede innovation. There are potential benefits from regulatory interventions that mitigate imperfections but also potential costs from necessarily imperfect regulation. The challenge is to find an appropriate balance. This grant provides support for an initiative at the Brookings Institution to found a new, evidence-based, non-ideological Center on Regulation and Markets. In recent years, the trend has been for academics interested in regulation to specialize in environmental, health, labor, or other specific regulatory contexts. While this approach has many merits, such specialization deprives the field of the insights and wisdom that come from the wider study of regulation as such. The new Brookings Center will aim to recapture those insights and revitalize regulatory economics by incorporating recent behavioral, technological, societal, and legal perspectives. The new Center will initially concentrate on three work streams: Regulatory Processes and Perspectives, Market and Government Failures, and the Regulation of Financial Markets. Specific topics range from autonomous vehicles and the sharing economy to bankruptcy law and cost/benefit estimation methods. Outputs will include peer-reviewed papers, policy briefs, roundtables, and conferences.

    To promote independent, unbiased, and nonpartisan economic research on regulatory economics

    More
  • grantee: Private Capital Research Institute
    amount: $500,000
    city: Boston, MA
    year: 2017

    To set up an Administrative Data Research Facility that makes data about the private capital industry accessible to researchers

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Josh Lerner

    Representing roughly $4 trillion globally, private capital plays an outsize role in productivity trends since its investments traditionally promote innovation and reorganization. Since private equity is private, however, there is very little available data on how venture capital or private equity firms invest in companies. What few studies we do have comes from proprietary data that cannot be shared and thus cannot be subjected to normal scientific attempts to replicate or check findings and results. Josh Lerner, a distinguished scholar at the Harvard Business School, is so keen on making data about this sector more available to academic researchers that he established a nonprofit, the Private Capital Research Institute (PCRI), explicitly for that purpose. This grant funds a project by Lerner and his team at PCRI to compile a large dataset of Certificates of Incorporation (COIs). COIs filings record significant details about the provision of private capital, including information on the capital structure and key terms of venture capital deals along with important information about valuation. Though supposedly public, COIs are in practice quite difficult to obtain or study other than one at a time. Lerner and the PCRI staff will use grant funds acquire approximately 6,000 COIs and begin compile a database that tracks 20-30 variables contained in COIs. The database will then be made available to academic researchers for research.

    To set up an Administrative Data Research Facility that makes data about the private capital industry accessible to researchers

    More
  • grantee: Urban Institute
    amount: $616,926
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2017

    To demonstrate new statistical and visualization capabilities by migrating massive microsimulation models to the cloud

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Robert McClelland

    Evaluating the impact of proposed changes to the law requires predicting how people’s behavior will change in response to this or that policy change. These predications are made using microsimulations. Researchers compile data from a representative sample of the population, run models that estimate what those individuals will do in response to changes in, say, the tax code, and then aggregate the results. This is a traditional tool not just for economists but also for the study of traffic, finance, epidemiology, and crowds. The problem with microsimulations, however, is that they are computationally unwieldy. Running a sophisticated model requires lots of time and computing power. Funds from this grant support efforts by Robert McClelland at the Urban Institute’s Tax Policy Center (TPC) to take the next big step in microsimulation by harnessing the power of cloud-based computing. McClelland will move the TPC’s existing tax policy evaluation microsimulation models to the cloud, allowing the models to both be run faster and to allow multiple simulations to be run at once. This will make it routinely practical, for example, to see how robust results are to changes in parameter choices, to evaluate many different policy options and see which works best, and to handle nonlinearities due to thresholds in the tax code where different rules kick in or out. Basic statistical tasks—like obtaining variances, building confidence intervals, or testing hypotheses—should run in a matter of hours rather than months. These new capabilities will greatly enhance how useful TPC’s models are for rapidly understanding proposed changes in the tax code. The TPC team will then test these new capabilities by investigating three specific research questions: How does uncertainty in growth rates and recession timing affect projected tax revenues? How does sampling variation affect model behavior? And how can tax policies improve distributional outcomes without reducing revenue? Lastly, TPC will also launch an interactive website where the public can explore and visualize tax plans of their own design in real time.

    To demonstrate new statistical and visualization capabilities by migrating massive microsimulation models to the cloud

    More
  • grantee: Stanford University
    amount: $480,854
    city: Stanford, CA
    year: 2017

    To develop, test, and post new algorithms for estimating heterogeneous causal effects from large-scale observational studies and field experiments

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Susan Athey

    This work funds methodological work by economist Susan Athey, who is aiming to develop rigorous new statistical algorithms that will allow machine learning programs to isolate causal relationships in large, complex datasets. Athey is building special new tools to handle methodological tasks that economists care about but often find challenging. These include novel techniques for taking heterogeneity into account while estimating treatment effects, calculating optimal policies, and testing hypotheses in very large and varied populations. Athey’s focus will be on computing algorithms that are particularly useful for evaluating policy interventions and that enable one to isolate how policy changes differentially affect the behavior of heterogeneous populations. As a result of her work, she expects to publish several pieces in peer reviewed statistical and econometric journals and all the algorithms, code, documentation, and nonproprietary data Athey and her team generates will be made freely available to other researchers.

    To develop, test, and post new algorithms for estimating heterogeneous causal effects from large-scale observational studies and field experiments

    More
  • grantee: NumFOCUS
    amount: $684,185
    city: Austin, TX
    year: 2017

    To develop a programming toolkit for the construction, execution, and evaluation of macroeconomic simulations where heterogeneous agents interact behaviorally

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Christopher Carroll

    Though it has been ten years since the Great Recession, the comprehensive macroeconomic models in use at central banks, government agencies, and other large financial institutions are not noticeably improved from a decade ago. Conversations with leaders of those institutions point to two fundamental flaws in traditional models, namely, the assumptions about representative agents and about rational expectations. These imply not only that the economy evolves as if there is only one consumer and only one firm but also that the consumer and the firm make optimal decisions based on predictions that are realized. Why are macroeconomists so reluctant to give up these stultifying assumptions? Because as hard as it is to run models with those assumptions, it is nearly impossible to compute much without them. Chris Carroll of Johns Hopkins University wants to fix this situation. While serving as chief economist at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), he started constructing an open source computational tool kit for macroeconomists that can specifically handle non-rational heterogeneous agents. The platform, the Heterogeneous Agents Resources Kit (HARK), is capable of modeling how microeconomic interactions among heterogeneous agents can lead to macroeconomic outcomes different from those predicted by traditional techniques. It is also possible to assign less-than-rational behaviors—such as hyperbolic discounting, anchoring, or herding—to parts of the population. Running simulations under those circumstances can reveal phenomena that traditional models can neither explain nor even generate. This grant provides three years of support to Carroll as he further expands and develops HARK and creates tools to facilitate its use.

    To develop a programming toolkit for the construction, execution, and evaluation of macroeconomic simulations where heterogeneous agents interact behaviorally

    More
  • grantee: Innovations for Poverty Action
    amount: $660,365
    city: New Haven, CT
    year: 2017

    To study the behavioral welfare economics of potential interventions in four kinds of critical consumer decisions

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Hunt Allcott

    This grant funds a project by Hunt Allcott, Dmitry Taubinsky, and Jonathan Zinman to four common kinds of consumer decisions and then use those models to analyze the welfare implications of potential policy interventions aimed at altering these decisions. They plan to examine supposed “mistakes” people make making decisions about sugar-sweetened beverages, credit card borrowing, checking account overdrafts, and college enrollment. In each context, the research team will start by formulating a theoretical model that can accommodate a range of consumer behaviors. Next, they will perform empirical analyses using experimental, quasi-experimental, and survey designs to identify biases and test predictions. Then they will analyze the empirical welfare implications various regulatory or other interventions aimed at altering consumer choices in these areas. In addition to covering data collection costs, grant funds will support a research assistants and a single project manager for all four studies.

    To study the behavioral welfare economics of potential interventions in four kinds of critical consumer decisions

    More
  • grantee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    amount: $390,487
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2017

    To study R&D investment levels and returns in the context of current U.S. productivity and innovation trends

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator John Van Reenen

    While advances in information technology may be changing our lives, they are not necessarily translating into greater productivity or prosperity for the economy as a whole. Having peaked in the 1950s, productivity growth fell dramatically in the U.S. from 2004 to 2008. The last five years have seen some of the lowest levels since the U.S. began collecting such statistics. This grant funds a project by John Van Reenen of MIT and Nicholas Bloom of Stanford to study how R&D investment in the U.S. affects the productivity growth rate. In previous work, Van Reenen and Bloom have identified how organizational innovations affect worker productivity. This grant funds an extension of that work as the team tries to isolate the role research and development plays in productivity by studying what they call “Ideas-TFP.” From a macroeconomic view, the team will examine trends in Ideas-TFP across countries and regions. At the meso level, they will concentrate on a few key sectors, such as medical and agricultural innovation. Focusing further on individual firms, they will compile private and public data about R&D spending as well as patenting and new product introductions. Of particular concern to the team will be constructing measures of market “dynamism” that reflect the rates at which jobs and firms are created or destroyed. The datasets compiled and shared by this project will also help other recent grantees, since estimating the returns on R&D is one of the animating and abiding goals for the Sloan Foundation’s subprogram on the Economic Analysis of Science and Technology.

    To study R&D investment levels and returns in the context of current U.S. productivity and innovation trends

    More
  • grantee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    amount: $434,269
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2017

    To conduct research on the private and social returns to innovation

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Heidi Williams

    This grant funds a suite of three research projects by Heidi Williams of MIT to estimate the returns on R&D investments. All three projects deal with how private and public interests diverge and to what extent that divergence is mitigated or created by the patent system. The first study asks how much “stealing” from previous innovations may increase private returns without necessarily increasing social returns. Working with Daron Acemoglu (MIT), Williams will measure “citations stolen” from patents that served as “prior art” for a given innovation. Because advances do not always come about due to new knowledge per se, but rather due to marginal or technical improvements on existing technologies, “follow-on innovations” can earn more private returns than warranted by the new social value they create. Williams will compare citation data between successful and unsuccessful patent applications to help quantify the extent to which progress depends on substituting new ideas for old ones, rather than the generation of completely new or disruptive capabilities. For the second study, Williams and co-authors Pat Kline (University of California, Berkeley), Nevianna Petkova (U.S. Office of Tax Analysis), and Owen Zidar (University of Chicago Booth School of Business) will merge data on U.S. patent applications with IRS tax records to investigate which firms and which workers profit from a patent. By carrying out event studies, the team will specifically trace how spillovers accrue to private parties other than the original inventors. The third study, with Eric Budish (Chicago Booth) and Ben Roin (MIT Sloan School of Management), seeks evidence to support the common but unproven assumption that patents increase innovation. What happens, for example, when the patent for a basic ingredient expires, but a “new use” is found during the unprotected period? Preliminary findings indicate a drop-off in for-profit (but not publicly funded) research on a drug once a generic competitor can enter the market. Williams and her collaborators will estimate the social value of “missing” research investments that private interests are not undertaking now, but would if incentive systems were different.

    To conduct research on the private and social returns to innovation

    More
  • grantee: The Conversation
    amount: $500,000
    city: Boston, MA
    year: 2017

    To enhance The Conversation’s production of publicly accessible articles by academics about their research in economics

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Bruce Wilson

    The Conversation U.S. (TCUS) is an independent and nonprofit news outlet that produces popular articles by academics about their research. Articles on the site are written and titled by researchers themselves, edited in cooperation with skilled journalists, and then published under a Creative Commons CC-BY license, allowing other publications like The Atlantic, Washington Post, and New York Times to republish them to their own readers. Since its founding in 2014, some 3,400 scholars from 525 universities have written for TCUS. Including republished articles, the number of “reads” has grown to more than six million per month. Funds from this grant provide two years of support to the Business and Economics desk at TCUS, allowing the continued publication of articles on timely topics in economics and finance. In addition to defraying operational costs, grant funds will support the hiring of a researcher responsible for identifying top professors whose academic work is timely and compelling enough for TCUS to turn into popular, authoritative, and important news.

    To enhance The Conversation’s production of publicly accessible articles by academics about their research in economics

    More
  • grantee: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    amount: $375,475
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2017

    To renew support for a three-year postdoctoral program on the economics of the aging workforce

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Nicole Maestas

    This grant provides four years of renewed support to a postdoctoral fellowship program run by the National Bureau of Economic Research which supports talented young researchers interested in working on the economics of an aging workforce. Fellows receive a one-year stipend to carry out research at NBER’s office in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as well as limited funds for research-related purposes. In addition, fellows have the opportunity to participate in NBER’s weekly lunch seminars, NBER’s Summer Institute workshops on Aging and Labor Studies, relevant activities related to the larger NIA-NBER fellows program on Aging, and collaborative research and networking activities with a similar postdoctoral fellowship program at the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies. Selection of the three fellows per year will be made by a panel of experts who are members of both the Aging and Labor Studies NBER programs. Nicole Maestas of Harvard University will chair the selection committee, which will include leading scholars in the fields of labor economics and the economics of aging. The committee’s decisions will be based on their evaluation of the fellows’ potential to make an important contribution to the understanding of the behavior of older workers and the functioning of labor markets for these workers.

    To renew support for a three-year postdoctoral program on the economics of the aging workforce

    More
  • grantee: Urban Institute
    amount: $1,876,012
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2017

    To identify, simulate, and evaluate policy reform options that could reduce work disincentives at older ages, more equitably and efficiently provide retirement benefits to older adults, and ensure long-term solvency of U.S. retirement programs

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Richard Johnson

    To make sound decisions about potential changes to Social Security, Medicare, and other retirement programs, policymakers need reliable, objective predictions based on the best available data on how reforms would likely affect retiree income and benefits, labor market activities, taxpayer burdens, and program costs and solvency. The predictions are often provided by DYNASIM, the Urban Institute’s well-respected microsimulation model. This grant funds a project by the Urban Institute to expand and improve the DYNASIM model. DYNASIM is a more ambitious tool than nearly every policy evaluation model in use today. It attempts to predict a wider range of outcomes than do most models developed by CBO or the analytical offices of Cabinet agencies. For example, a raise in the early and full retirement ages would almost certainly affect retirement ages, earnings, savings patterns, and the distribution of incomes of those 60 to 74 years in age. It may also influence marriage rates and living arrangements, and could indirectly affect the health status and health insurance coverage of some older Americans. Simple models often focus on just one or two of these outcomes. DYNASIM’s predictions, however, attempt to capture all these indirect effects. With this grant, the Urban Institute will develop further the predictive capabilities of DYNASIM so that the model can be used to produce credible and detailed predictions of the impact of government policy reforms that affect the nation’s elderly. The programs of interest include Social Security, including its Disability Insurance (SSDI), Medicare, tax policies that affect retirement saving, and important components of Medicaid. The grant will examine how reforms in one or more of these programs will affect old-age labor supply, the prevalence of old-age poverty, the distribution of income in old age, out-of-pocket spending on health care in old age, and tax burdens of the elderly. The DYNASIM model will also produce predictions of the effects of these policy changes on both the elderly and the nonelderly. In addition to providing for the needed improvements, the grant includes funds to maintain DYNASIM during the project period, such as by incorporating the latest economic and demographic assumptions used by Social Security and updating tax and other policy parameters. In addition, the Urban Institute team will use some funds to train additional DYNASIM analysts, to ensure the sustainability of the model, and to find ways to provide access to other researchers, so that it can continue to provide the research and policy community with the best information on the effects of retirement policy reforms after the grant period ends.

    To identify, simulate, and evaluate policy reform options that could reduce work disincentives at older ages, more equitably and efficiently provide retirement benefits to older adults, and ensure long-term solvency of U.S. retirement programs

    More
  • grantee: National Academy of Sciences
    amount: $500,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2017

    To sustain the Science and Entertainment Exchange and the role of science and science consultants in Hollywood and to provide science advisors for the Sloan Film Program

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Ann Merchant

    The Science and Entertainment Exchange was launched by the National Academy of Sciences in 2008 to pair members of the science community with the entertainment industry. The Exchange works to ensure accuracy when science is used in film, tries to seed new ideas within the film and television industry by exposing them to new content, and acts as a resource of professional science advice, including to Sloan’s myriad film partners. This grant funds a series of activities by the Exchange to bolster scientific representation in Hollywood films and television, increase the diversity of its science consultants, and strengthen ties with the Sloan Film program. Grant funds will support the Exchange as it provides science consultants to the film and television community and to Sloan filmmakers on some 300 television and film projects per year. Additional funds will support efforts to increase the number of women and underrepresented minorities in the Exchange’s scientist database and on efforts to include Sloan-supported filmmakers in their Exchange events and outreach.

    To sustain the Science and Entertainment Exchange and the role of science and science consultants in Hollywood and to provide science advisors for the Sloan Film Program

    More
  • grantee: Film Independent, Inc.
    amount: $398,668
    city: Los Angeles, CA
    year: 2017

    As support for the triennial Sloan Film Summit: a three-day event of screenings, panels, staged readings, project updates, networking opportunities, and community building for Sloan film grantees

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Maria Bozzi

    This grant provides funds to Film Independent (FIND) to organize and host the 2017 Sloan Film Summit, the major convening of all Sloan film grantees held every three years. The summit offers a rare opportunity for interaction and networking between students, faculty, and administrators from the Foundation’s six film schools; filmmakers and staff from the five screenplay development and film festival partners; and Sloan grantees at Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI), Coolidge Corner Theatre, and the Science and Entertainment Exchange. 150 Sloan grantees are expected to attend. The three-day summit will open with a Friday night film screening on the theme of women and science, followed by an opening dinner. Saturday morning will feature Sloan award recipient updates as well as case studies with filmmakers and scientist collaborators. In the afternoon, there will be a networking lunch that connects filmmakers with scientists, followed by an industry connect program allowing filmmakers to meet with agents, casting directors, distributors, and other industry representatives. During this time, representatives from all of Sloan’s film partners will meet with Sloan program staff to share experiences and discuss best practices. Later, breakout sessions involving the latest in virtual reality will be followed by a special evening event. Sunday will open with a science and storytelling keynote from a prominent member of the film or television industry. After the keynote, there will be staged readings of excerpts from Sloan-winning screenplays for an industry audience. The summit will conclude with a showcase of Sloan-supported feature films, including one completed feature and sneak previews of upcoming features. Grant funds support administrative costs associated with hosting the event, along with associated publicity and outreach in print and social media.

    As support for the triennial Sloan Film Summit: a three-day event of screenings, panels, staged readings, project updates, networking opportunities, and community building for Sloan film grantees

    More
  • grantee: Film Independent, Inc.
    amount: $699,236
    city: Los Angeles, CA
    year: 2017

    To provide direct support to develop and distribute science and technology scripts, teleplays, and films

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Jennifer Kushner

    This grant continues a Sloan Foundation partnership with Film Independent (FIND), producer of the Independent Spirit Awards and the Los Angeles Film Festival, to support filmmakers and television writers who explore scientific or technical themes in their work or create films that feature scientists, engineers, technologists, or mathematicians as major characters. The FIND program includes a host of interrelated and mutually supportive activities that promote this goal. FIND selects one producer per year to develop a science-themed script in FIND’s Producing Lab, with a $30,000 producer’s grant and a reception and promotion around this project; award one producer or producing team per year a Sloan Fast Track Fellowship with a $20,000 grant and invitation to the Fast Track film financing market; select one outstanding episodic television writer per year and award him or her with a $10,000 grant to develop a science-themed series in FIND’s new Episodic Lab; and award two distribution grants of $50,000 each to an exceptional science-themed film to incentivize buyers to acquire it for distribution. Grant funds will support these awards and associated administration and outreach costs for the next three years.

    To provide direct support to develop and distribute science and technology scripts, teleplays, and films

    More
  • grantee: Arizona State University
    amount: $248,648
    city: Tempe, AZ
    year: 2017

    To create a free, open source, interactive, digital edition of Frankenstein: Annotated for Scientists, Engineers and Creators of All Kinds that bridges the sciences and humanities and seeks to foster an engaged community of readers

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program New Media
    • Investigator Ed Finn

    The grant provides support for an initiative by the Center for Science and Imagination at Arizona State University, partnering with MIT Press, MIT Media Lab, and Plympton Literary Studio, to create an open-access digital edition of Mary Shelley’s landmark novel Frankenstein. The digital “Living Frankenstein” edition—titled Frankenstein: Annotated for Scientists, Engineers and Creators of All Kinds—will present an innovative reading experience and compelling new digital content to the 21st century reader, including a podcast series, videos, and graphical interactives. It is also constructed on the software platform PubPub, developed by MIT to facilitate large-scale collaborative authorship and peer review, which will allow readers to explore multiple layers of content while annotating, commenting, and curating material that they can share with a wide community. The project tackles the novel’s age-old themes of creation and responsibility—and its contemporary relevance to artificial intelligence, robotics, genetic engineering, and more—to foster an engaged community of readers and a new interactive reading experience timed to the novel’s 200th anniversary in 2018. The digital edition will offer a unique encounter between a great literary text and contemporary issues of science and technology refracted through an interactive digital medium that seeks to transform the reading experience and advance public understanding and community engagement with science and technology.

    To create a free, open source, interactive, digital edition of Frankenstein: Annotated for Scientists, Engineers and Creators of All Kinds that bridges the sciences and humanities and seeks to foster an engaged community of readers

    More
  • grantee: PRX Incorporated
    amount: $510,744
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2017

    To support PRX in developing a new generation of science shows and expanding science-themed audio content for radio broadcast and podcast

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Radio
    • Investigator Kerri Hoffman

    Funds from this grant support efforts by PRX Incorporated to develop, distribute, and promote podcasts featuring high-quality scientific content or that explore scientific themes. Over the next two years, PRX plans to produce 10 episodes of the Orbital Path podcast, a new monthly program hosted by astronomer Michelle Thaller which covers astronomy, space science, and cosmology; 12 episodes of The Outside, an outdoor-focused podcast about survival science and the science of adventure; 1 science-themed episode of The Moth podcast 2 science-themed episodes of the 99% Invisible podcast 1 science-themed episode of the Theory of Everything podcast 12 episodes of Go Flight, a podcast developed in partnership with the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum 12 episodes of Sidedoor, a new podcast developed with the Smithsonian that tells stories about science, art, history, humanity and their surprising interconnections. In addition, PRX will continue to develop and promote Transistor, a broad science channel that showcases audio pieces from the open-call STEM Story Project and tests new ideas and formats from independent producers. PRX intends to use this platform to develop a new signature podcast and will launch with 18 new episodes.

    To support PRX in developing a new generation of science shows and expanding science-themed audio content for radio broadcast and podcast

    More
  • grantee: City Lore, Inc.
    amount: $500,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2017

    To support the theatrical release, festival run, and PBS broadcast of Oliver Sacks: The Life of the Mind, a documentary about the renowned neurologist, clinician, and writer

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Television
    • Investigator Steve Zeitlin

    The grant provides production support to filmmaker Ric Burns for a new documentary about Oliver Sacks, the celebrated neurologist, clinician, and bestselling writer who died in 2015. Upon receiving his fatal diagnosis, Sacks invited Burns to film his final days and this production will draw on some 80 hours of unique footage from the end of Sack’s life, as well as other footage covering the full arc of Sacks’ remarkable career. Foundation funding includes support for the addition of three science advisors to the project, to ensure the accuracy of the film’s portrayal of Sack’s work The finished film will have a theatrical release, a US and international film festival run, and will be broadcast on American Masters on PBS.

    To support the theatrical release, festival run, and PBS broadcast of Oliver Sacks: The Life of the Mind, a documentary about the renowned neurologist, clinician, and writer

    More
  • grantee: Columbia University
    amount: $254,994
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2017

    To continue support for the Women in Energy program at the Center on Global Energy Policy to improve the engagement of women in energy policy, security, and technology communities

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Jason Bordoff

    The Women in Energy (WIE) program is an initiative developed by the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University to provide professional development and networking opportunities to female students interested in a range of energy issues. Launched in 2015 with Sloan Foundation support, the program hosts seminars and networking events, provides mentoring, and gives summer internship stipends for students at universities both in the greater New York City region and, increasingly, the larger northeastern area of the United States. The program also connects current female students with female leaders in the energy sector from government, industry, and nonprofits. This grant provide two years of renewed support for the program.

    To continue support for the Women in Energy program at the Center on Global Energy Policy to improve the engagement of women in energy policy, security, and technology communities

    More
  • grantee: Environmental Defense Fund Inc.
    amount: $589,260
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2017

    To understand the economic and environmental impacts of cost-reflective electricity pricing schemes related to distributed energy resources deployment

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Beia Spiller

    Funds from this grant support a multi-institutional and multidisciplinary research project led by two economists at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) (Beia Spiller and Kristina Mohlin) working in collaboration with power systems engineers at MIT (Karen Tapia-Ahumada and Ashwini Bharatkumar) and regulatory analysts at New York University (Burcin Unel) to understand how alternative electricity rate designs might impact the reliability of electricity distribution grids. Many households face a fixed, per kilowatt hour rate from their utility for their electricity use—whether it is midnight in the winter (when overall demand for electricity is low) or whether it is late afternoon on a hot, sunny summer day (when demand is high). Some utilities, however, are experimenting with a host of demand-varying pricing schemes, so that consumers pay higher per kilowatt hour costs when demand is high. There are many versions of these time varying rate design schemes (real time pricing, time of use pricing, variable and critical peak pricing, etc.). By changing the economic incentives facing consumers, these policies could impact the introduction of various distributed energy resources on the grid. You may, for example, be more inclined to install solar panels on your roof to generate your own power on hot, sunny summer afternoons to avoid paying much higher electricity rates during those times. Spiller, Mohlin, and their team plan to expand existing engineering simulation models and then apply them to real world data supplied through a partnership with ComEd of Illinois. This will allow them to estimate how various dynamic pricing schemes would affect investments in solar panels and other distributed energy resources, and how the subsequent impacts such investments would have on pollution, electricity prices, and total system costs.

    To understand the economic and environmental impacts of cost-reflective electricity pricing schemes related to distributed energy resources deployment

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Davis
    amount: $412,564
    city: Davis, CA
    year: 2017

    To quantify existing and pending distribution system impacts of high levels of penetration of distributed energy resources and loads

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator James Bushnell

    This grant funds a collaboration between University of California, Davis energy economists James Bushnell and David Rapson and distribution systems engineer, Duncan Callaway of the University of California at Berkeley. The group plans to study how the rise of distributed energy resources (DERs) like rooftop solar panels and electric vehicles impact power quality and distribution system performance in California. Working with utilities (such as Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas & Electric Company) and state government regulators (including the California Public Utilities Commission and the California Air Resources Board), Bushnell and his colleagues will collect and combine data on solar photovoltaic installations and electric vehicle registrations and then map them to individual circuits in the California electricity distribution grid. This will allow the team to analyze in fine-grained detail how increases in solar photovoltaic installations and electric vehicles are likely to strain elements of the California electricity distribution system. The team will then investigate how the performance of distribution systems maps to various socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of California residents.

    To quantify existing and pending distribution system impacts of high levels of penetration of distributed energy resources and loads

    More
  • grantee: Environmental Defense Fund Inc.
    amount: $350,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2017

    To design and implement a training and networking program that enhances the development of early-career energy and environmental professionals

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Steven Hamburg

    The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) employs a substantial number of postbaccalaureate and postdoctoral scientists and economists. These positions train scholars how to undertake policy-relevant science and economics research in an applied setting, outside the university. This grant provides support to EDF to develop a more formalized training, networking, and mentoring program that will train 25 to 30 early-career researchers in the ancillary skills needed to succeed in applied research environments. Training will cover such topics as communications, proposal writing, program management, and team leadership. EDF will also organize a series of workshops that separately target postbaccalaureates and postdoctoral researchers to reflect the different skill development needs among these two groups and will implement a formal mentoring system that will link their postdoctoral fellows with senior scholars across the institution. Finally, EDF’s in-house social scientists will implement a series of surveys among participants to track the impact of this program over time.

    To design and implement a training and networking program that enhances the development of early-career energy and environmental professionals

    More
  • grantee: National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, Inc.
    amount: $704,328
    city: White Plains, NY
    year: 2017

    To manage effectively and efficiently the Foundation's portfolio of graduate scholarship programs

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Christopher Smith

    Since 2001, the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME) has served as the sole administrative manager for the Foundation’s graduate scholarship programs for underrepresented minorities, the Minority Ph.D. program (MPHD) and the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership (SIGP). NACME verifies student eligibility, disburses scholarship funds, and tracks student progress. This grant continues support for these and other activities for another three years. In addition to these activities, over the next three years NACME Vice President Christopher Smith and Program Manager Denise Ellis plan to launch several new initiatives related to Sloan fellowship programs, including community building among campuses participating in the MPHD and SIGP, financial analysis of scholarship funds, and reporting on the academic progress of scholarship recipients. In addition, they will begin to administer surveys to supported students both as they join the program and at graduation.

    To manage effectively and efficiently the Foundation's portfolio of graduate scholarship programs

    More
  • grantee: New York University
    amount: $727,511
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2017

    To further develop the Ph.D. Excellence Initiative to change the face of U.S. economics departments by preparing a select cadre of high-achieving post-baccalaureate students of color for the rigors of Ph.D. study in the field

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Peter Henry

    Led by Peter Henry at New York University’s Stern School of Business, the Ph.D. Excellence Initiative (PHDEI) seeks out promising students of color who recently graduated with a baccalaureate degree in economics and offers them high quality coursework, training, and research experience designed to make them very competitive candidates for admission to top economics graduate programs. Incoming PHDEI students take two courses per semester (tuition is covered by NYU), and receive mentoring and research experience through Henry and participating economics faculty at NYU and other institutions. Grant funds support the administration of the program for four years, along with associated outreach, communications, and evaluation activities. Additional funds support an annual summer conference at which current and former research assistants and PHDEI fellows, joined by supportive faculty mentors, will present their research.

    To further develop the Ph.D. Excellence Initiative to change the face of U.S. economics departments by preparing a select cadre of high-achieving post-baccalaureate students of color for the rigors of Ph.D. study in the field

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Irvine
    amount: $1,000,000
    city: Irvine, CA
    year: 2017

    To develop an indoor chemistry modeling consortium

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Chemistry of Indoor Environments
    • Investigator Manabu Shiraiwa

    Funds from this grant support efforts by Manabu Shiraiwa, assistant professor of chemistry at the University of California, Irvine, in collaboration with Nicola Carslaw at the University of York, to develop and lead an indoor chemistry modeling consortium. This two-year project will bring together experts from several different fields to begin to develop a model that realistically represents how buildings influence indoor chemical processes. The team will begin to find ways to link six different modeling techniques that deal with different aspects of indoor chemistry on scales ranging from micro- to macroscale and from very short (less than 1 second) to much longer lifetimes. The modeling consortium plans to address the following research questions: (1) Can we understand indoor chemistry well enough to predict it quantitatively with computer models of chemical and physical processes? (2) What are the major uncertainties that currently exist in these models? (3) What experiments/field measurements do we need to improve our models? (4) What experiments/field measurements do we need to evaluate our models? Models will be developed within the framework of exploring two relevant and highly topical research themes for indoor air chemistry: (1) reactions between indoor oxidants and human skin and (2) cleaning-related emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The research team will also conduct three workshops—at the beginning, middle, and end of the project—to foster collaboration and communication as well as to provide in-person opportunities to review work plans and progress. Six early-career researchers will be trained. The new knowledge and modeling tools will be shared in peer-reviewed publications as well as through presentations at conferences, such as Indoor Air 2018 and the American Association for Aerosol Research (AAAR) meeting.

    To develop an indoor chemistry modeling consortium

    More
  • grantee: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
    amount: $750,000
    city: Chapel Hill, NC
    year: 2017

    To examine the roles of dampness, water soluble organic gases, and surface chemistry on indoor air composition

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Chemistry of Indoor Environments
    • Investigator Barbara Turpin

    This grant, to Barbara Turpin, professor and chair of the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, will fund three-year effort to examine the roles of dampness, water-soluble organic gases (WSOGs), and surface chemistry on indoor air composition. The project is designed to improve characterization of indoor WSOGs, their chemistry and fate indoors, and to provide key information needed to predict the degree to which water in damp homes may alter indoor air composition. The research will address the following questions by conducting controlled experiments with real indoor surfaces at high vs. low relative humidity: What is the uptake rate and equilibrium partitioning of WSOGs on typical indoor surfaces? How much liquid water absorbs on these surfaces and how does liquid water mediate uptake? The research will also provide insights into surface chemistry and product formation in damp homes by measuring real-time chemical changes on indoor surfaces after the introduction of key gases (ozone, water vapor, and WSOGs) using sophisticated state-of-the-art spectroscopic techniques. Finally, the UNC team will pilot real-time molecular-level characterization of WSOGs in one to three homes using high-resolution time-of-flight chemical ionization mass spectrometry (HR-ToF-CIMS) over 15 days. The project will create new knowledge about the roles of dampness, water-soluble organic gases, and surface chemistry on indoor air composition. The research findings will be shared through peer-reviewed publications and presentations at national and international conferences.

    To examine the roles of dampness, water soluble organic gases, and surface chemistry on indoor air composition

    More
  • grantee: University of Toronto
    amount: $736,035
    city: Toronto, ON, Canada
    year: 2017

    To investigate the role of photochemistry indoors

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Chemistry of Indoor Environments
    • Investigator D. James Donaldson

    This grant funds a research project by atmospheric photochemist D. James Donaldson, professor at the University of Toronto, and Christian George, a senior scientist at France’s National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) in Lyon, France to investigate the role of photochemistry indoors. The team plans to establish whether heterogeneous (gas/surface) photochemical reactions occur indoors, producing gas phase oxidants and their precursors, as well as particles. The team plans to address three main questions: (1) Are indoor surfaces of occupied spaces photochemically active in the formation of gas phase oxidants? (2) If so, how do local variables (temperature, relative humidity, specifics of illumination) affect the formation of gas phase oxidants? (3) Is heterogeneous photochemistry a source of indoor particulate matter? These questions will be addressed through a series of laboratory and chamber experiments in both laboratories in Toronto, Canada, and Lyon, France. To facilitate the long-distance collaboration, the team will conduct a series of two-way student exchanges, as well as annual meetings between the principal investigators in Toronto and Lyon. This exchange of students will encourage and support strong international scientific ties at all levels, allowing students to experience different societies and laboratory structures, and better preparing them for transnational activities in the future. This project promises to provide new knowledge about indoor photochemistry. The results will be shared through peer-reviewed publications and presentations at conferences and meetings. At least three undergraduate students, three graduate students, and two postdoctoral fellows will be trained.

    To investigate the role of photochemistry indoors

    More
  • grantee: Aspiration
    amount: $20,000
    city: San Francisco, CA
    year: 2017

    To support participation in a summit on the sustainability of open source software projects

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Allen Gunn

    To support participation in a summit on the sustainability of open source software projects

    More
  • grantee: Colorado School of Mines
    amount: $140,000
    city: Golden, CO
    year: 2017

    To examine Biodeterioration and Biocorrosion in Spaceflight Ecosystems: Implications for Material/ Microbiome Interactions on the International Space Station

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator John Spear

    To examine Biodeterioration and Biocorrosion in Spaceflight Ecosystems: Implications for Material/ Microbiome Interactions on the International Space Station

    More
  • grantee: Arizona State University
    amount: $140,000
    city: Tempe, AZ
    year: 2017

    To develope predictive model systems of polymicrobial biofilm formation and susceptibility to chemical disinfectant:  A longitudinal study with implications for spaceflight systems integrity and health risks

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Cheryl Nickerson

    To develope predictive model systems of polymicrobial biofilm formation and susceptibility to chemical disinfectant:  A longitudinal study with implications for spaceflight systems integrity and health risks

    More
  • grantee: New Venture Fund
    amount: $179,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2017

    To encourage charitable giving in support of basic scientific research through Sloan membership in the Science Philanthropy Alliance

    • Program
    • Investigator Bruce Boyd

    To encourage charitable giving in support of basic scientific research through Sloan membership in the Science Philanthropy Alliance

    More
  • grantee: NumFOCUS
    amount: $20,000
    city: Austin, TX
    year: 2017

    To support travel by students and junior faculty to a workshop focused on the development of scientific software using the R statistical computing language

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Karthik Ram

    To support travel by students and junior faculty to a workshop focused on the development of scientific software using the R statistical computing language

    More
  • grantee: University of Hawaii
    amount: $120,000
    city: Honolulu, HI
    year: 2017

    To characterize the fungal communities captured by the air filters at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii, one of the most remote locations on earth

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Laura Tipton

    To characterize the fungal communities captured by the air filters at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii, one of the most remote locations on earth

    More
  • grantee: Fund for the City of New York
    amount: $124,893
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2017

    To build technical capacity within NYC borough president offices and community boards, and to develop a sustainable model for such activities going forward

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Noel Hidalgo

    To build technical capacity within NYC borough president offices and community boards, and to develop a sustainable model for such activities going forward

    More
  • grantee: The University of Chicago
    amount: $60,375
    city: Chicago, IL
    year: 2017

    To organize a workshop that will foster deeper, more productive dialogue between economists and engineers regarding the impact of energy efficiency programs

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Michael Greenstone

    To organize a workshop that will foster deeper, more productive dialogue between economists and engineers regarding the impact of energy efficiency programs

    More
  • grantee: International Energy Program Evaluation Conference
    amount: $20,000
    city: Chatham, MA
    year: 2017

    To continue support in accelerating and advancing the profession of energy evaluation by enabling graduate students to attend the 2017 IEPEC Conference at no charge

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Jane Peters

    To continue support in accelerating and advancing the profession of energy evaluation by enabling graduate students to attend the 2017 IEPEC Conference at no charge

    More
  • grantee: Foundation Center
    amount: $75,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2017

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Bradford Smith

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    More
  • grantee: ORCID
    amount: $19,900
    city: Bethesda, MD
    year: 2017

    To support participant travel to a meeting that will inform the next ORCID strategic plan

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Laurel Haak

    To support participant travel to a meeting that will inform the next ORCID strategic plan

    More
  • grantee: University of Bologna
    amount: $124,993
    city: Bologna, Italy
    year: 2017

    To establish an open scholarly citation database that freely and legally makes available accurate citation data in easily reused standard machine-readable formats

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Silvio Peroni

    To establish an open scholarly citation database that freely and legally makes available accurate citation data in easily reused standard machine-readable formats

    More
  • grantee: Mathematical Sciences Research Institute
    amount: $100,000
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2017

    To support a Sloan Film Room and related math and arts programming at the National Math Festival

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program New Media
    • Investigator David Eisenbud

    To support a Sloan Film Room and related math and arts programming at the National Math Festival

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Berkeley
    amount: $113,859
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2017

    To broaden understanding of distributional equity of transportation policy by quantifying the heterogeneous impact of fuel economy standards

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator James Sallee

    To broaden understanding of distributional equity of transportation policy by quantifying the heterogeneous impact of fuel economy standards

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Office of the President
    amount: $20,000
    city: Oakland, CA
    year: 2017

    To develop connections between open source scientific software developers, through a one-day meeting

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Guenter Waibel

    To develop connections between open source scientific software developers, through a one-day meeting

    More
  • grantee: Research Foundation of the City University of New York
    amount: $4,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2017

    To increase the number of doctoral degrees in the Mathematical Sciences awarded to students from underrepresented groups through the launch of the NYC Math Sciences Alliance

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Brooke Feigon

    To increase the number of doctoral degrees in the Mathematical Sciences awarded to students from underrepresented groups through the launch of the NYC Math Sciences Alliance

    More
  • grantee: New York Academy of Sciences
    amount: $110,140
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2017

    To provide a diverse cadre of 30 advanced doctoral students in STEM fields with leadership skills to give them maximum flexibility in considering career options through a 5 day workshop and 9-month webinar program called Science Alliance Leadership Training (SALT)

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Yaihara Fortis Santiago

    To provide a diverse cadre of 30 advanced doctoral students in STEM fields with leadership skills to give them maximum flexibility in considering career options through a 5 day workshop and 9-month webinar program called Science Alliance Leadership Training (SALT)

    More
  • grantee: Resources for the Future, Inc.
    amount: $20,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2017

    To prepare an updated, comprehensive literature review on the effectiveness of energy efficiency interventions to reflect recent findings and advancements in program evaluation methodologies

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Karen Palmer

    To prepare an updated, comprehensive literature review on the effectiveness of energy efficiency interventions to reflect recent findings and advancements in program evaluation methodologies

    More
  • grantee: Carnegie Institution of Washington
    amount: $1,250,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2017

    To synthesize the work of the Reservoirs and Fluxes Community of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Erik Hauri

    This grant continues support for two years for research conducted by the Reservoirs and Fluxes community of the Deep Carbon Observatory. Led by Marie Edmonds of Cambridge University and Erik Hauri of the Carnegie Institution for Science and comprising some 120 core members across the globe, the Reservoirs and Fluxes community is engaged in a coordinated research program to advance our understanding of the volume, distribution, and movement of Earth’s carbon. Major research goals include improving our knowledge of the global budget of fluxes of gases from volcanoes; learning about carbon in the mantle and its changes through time by studying the diamonds and their inclusions that were formed very deep; improving estimates of the global circulation of carbon in Earth’s interior and fluid dynamics of carbon; and improving knowledge of the chemical forms, mineral hosts, and reactions of carbon moving between reservoirs. The third and fourth activities are key for the DCO’s program-wide initiative to build a system of models simulating the origins and movements of deep carbon through Earth’s history, the paramount synthetic effort of the DCO, which could also be its greatest scientific legacy. The majority of grant funds provide partial support for each of about ten post-docs at six different institutions.

    To synthesize the work of the Reservoirs and Fluxes Community of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    More
  • grantee: Astrophysical Research Consortium
    amount: $731,000
    city: Seattle, WA
    year: 2017

    To maximize the sustainability of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) data archive

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Sloan Digital Sky Survey
    • Investigator Michael Blanton

    The SDSS data management structure, software, and interface has been on the frontier of astronomy since it was developed in the early 2000s. Many leading astronomical data centers use, integrate, and rely heavily on SDSS data, and these data are routinely accessed by amateur astronomers, students, and the public. This grant provides support to upgrade two back-end components of the SDSS data archive. The first is the Science Archive Server (SAS), housed at the University of Utah. SAS includes SDSS’s raw and calibrated images, and the SDSS spectrum files, all of which are primarily used by professional astronomers. The second is the Catalog Archive Server (CAS), hosted at Johns Hopkins University. CAS contains the primary catalog data and all metadata extracted from the raw images and spectra. CAS helps to facilitate research from astronomers both within and outside of the collaboration, as it serves as the primary link between SDSS data and other data sets in astronomy. In addition to modernizing and expanding the core functioning of these two systems, the upgrades will help improve the integration of SDSS data with broader outreach and public education efforts, including better connections with SDSS Voyages, the newly developed web portal devoted to public engagement.

    To maximize the sustainability of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) data archive

    More
  • grantee: Columbia University
    amount: $313,241
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2017

    To enable greater use of machine learning techniques in scientific research through technical and user experience improvements to scikit-learn

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Andreas Mueller

    Written in Python, scikit-learn is an open source machine learning software package used widely across the natural and social sciences (the “software paper” that introduced scikit-learn in 2011 has been cited over 4,700 times). Its maintainers have identified a set of improvements that would make it substantially more efficient for scientific users and enable more reproducible research, but which would require more focused time than any contributor can currently offer. This grant provides funds to Columbia University’s Andreas Mьller, one of the current core maintainers of scikit-learn, to design and implement the identified improvements. These include more flexible data types, better integration with Jupyter notebooks for model exploration, and some technical fixes that will substantially improve platform stability and performance.

    To enable greater use of machine learning techniques in scientific research through technical and user experience improvements to scikit-learn

    More
  • grantee: Code for Science and Society
    amount: $394,000
    city: Portland, OR
    year: 2017

    To develop software for open, reproducible, version-controlled, and testable spreadsheets

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Nokome Bentley

    A whole lot of science takes place in spreadsheets. Many researchers still bring their data into Excel as a convenient environment for exploration and analysis. Unfortunately, Excel has none of the attributes of a modern platform for reproducible computational research: it is not easily extensible to interoperate with data repositories; does not easily allow for version control; and cannot take advantage of substantial investments in open source scientific software packages. Nokome Bentley, a New Zealand-based fisheries scientist and software developer, has been developing a project called Stencila Sheets, an authoring tool that offers users familiar Google Docs–style interfaces, but is something quite different under the hood. His vision is a spreadsheet where each cell can hold data or code written in R, Python, Julia, or several other computing languages, with the output of a given cell addressable by any other cell in the sheet. The proximate goal is not to develop a direct competitor to Excel, but rather to offer spreadsheet users an easy bridge into the open-source ecosystem of reproducible computational science. Funds from this grant will allow further development of the Stencila platform over the next year, including increased integration with the Jupyter computing ecosystem, the development of a standalone desktop client, and the addition of features like real-time collaboration and import/export from other platforms.

    To develop software for open, reproducible, version-controlled, and testable spreadsheets

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Office of the President
    amount: $747,258
    city: Oakland, CA
    year: 2017

    To develop and deploy infrastructure necessary to elevate data to a first-class research output

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Guenter Waibel

    One obstacle to developing effective data citation practices is that data does not behave like a published article. It can be far more complex, can exist in many successive versions (none of which are canonical), and only a part of a given dataset might be used by a given study. An effective data citation regime must reflect the multitude of ways data can be used in research. These issues were taken up by the California Digital Library (CDL) in a 2014 National Science Foundation planning study to explore the idea of “data level metrics” and determine which metrics would be of most value to researchers. The grant funds an expansion of this work, as the CDL assembles a coalition to implement their findings. Over the next two years, CDL will bring together the organization that mints DOIs for datasets (DataCite) and the organization that manages the standard for article download and access data (COUNTER) with a collection of data repositories (DataONE) in order to implement best data citation practices using extensions to the popular Lagotto article usage tracking software. Beyond their own implementation, this collaboration will work with the Research Data Alliance to build consensus for and recruit additional repositories to adopt their best practices and technical solutions.

    To develop and deploy infrastructure necessary to elevate data to a first-class research output

    More
  • grantee: The American Assembly
    amount: $749,399
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2017

    To support the growth and sustainability of a large-scale online database of university course syllabi

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Joseph Karaganis

    In 2013, the Sloan Foundation approved a two-year grant to Joe Karaganis at the American Assembly to prototype a system to aggregate and make available data about what materials are assigned on course syllabi. The resulting Open Syllabus Project team publicly launched the first version of their Syllabus Explorer in early 2016. Within two months, the site logged over 250,000 visits, and was written up in the Chronicle of Higher Education as well as The New York Times, the Washington Post, and Time magazine. Funds from this grant provide continuing support to the effort, allowing the project to increase both the scale and richness of the syllabus data available for analysis. Funded activities include development of algorithms to allow the database to better recognize articles in STEM fields, expansion of the platform to enable the incorporation of datasets, software, and other items that might be published with a Document Object Identifier, and a pilot partnership with the Digital Public Library of America to mobilize the syllabus data in the service of public libraries.  

    To support the growth and sustainability of a large-scale online database of university course syllabi

    More
  • grantee: University of Toronto
    amount: $474,606
    city: Toronto, ON, Canada
    year: 2017

    To study the behavioral welfare economics of how nudges affect financial decision making

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Behavioral and Regulatory Effects on Decision-making (BRED)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Sandro Ambuehl

    Suppose you observe people making economic decisions that do not appear to be in their own best interest. Say they are not saving enough for retirement. Policymakers may decide to “nudge” those people into saving more, following the precepts put forth by Sunstein and Thaler in their popular book about behavioral economics. But is this, on balance, a good idea? Perhaps some people have good reasons to “undersave” (e.g., perhaps the person has a wealthy spouse). Evaluating a policy “nudge” like programs to increase saving would involve asking if the net benefit to those targeted outweighs the cost of the intervention. Determining when this is the case is a problem in “Behavioral Welfare Economics” and involves important questions about when choices represent mistakes on the part of the chooser, when they do not, and how much choosers value the opportunity to correct mistakes they make.  This grant supports work by Sandro Ambuehl from the University of Toronto and Doug Bernheim from Stanford to study how to measure welfare losses incurred due to irrational mistakes. The team will field several experiments that give subjects two financial choices that look different but are actually the same and then measure both the subjects’ willingness to pay for one option over the other and their willingness to pay to have the choice between options simplified. The results promise to shed new light on how the choosers value the ability to make good decisions and how that value is related to the likely costs of a poor choice.

    To study the behavioral welfare economics of how nudges affect financial decision making

    More
  • grantee: New York University
    amount: $491,605
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2017

    To study how attention and perception affect microeconomic behaviors and macroeconomic outcomes

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Behavioral and Regulatory Effects on Decision-making (BRED)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Andrew Caplin

    Over the past 30 years, behavioral research has succeeded in generating many examples of how people routinely violate traditional economic assumptions that human actors are rational optimizers of their preferences. So far, however, behavioral economists have not succeeded in generating a coherent set of principles that could replace these assumptions. The grant funds a project led by Mike Woodford of Columbia, Andrew Caplin from NYU, and Ernst Fehr from the University of Zurich, to take up this challenge. The team hypothesizes that much of what we have observed in behavioral economics can be systematized and explained through the lens of attentional constraints. There are also limits on how much attention people can pay to any given situation or decision. Nonoptimal decisions like those observed by behavioral economists can be best explained, they theorize, by thinking of them as the result of the allocation of limited attentional or decision-making resources. Grant funds will support the team as they work on developing and testing this theory. Additional funds support a series of summer schools and workshops to further engage the larger community of scholars on these issues.

    To study how attention and perception affect microeconomic behaviors and macroeconomic outcomes

    More
  • grantee: University of Michigan
    amount: $738,000
    city: Ann Arbor, MI
    year: 2017

    To support research on the economics of science that uses new data from universities about academic funding, spending, and training

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Economic Analysis of Science and Technology (EAST)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Jason Owen-Smith

    The Institute for Research on Innovation and Science (IRIS) provides data and data management services in support of fundamental research on the results of public and private investments in discovery, innovation, and education. Partnering with dozens of research universities, IRIS collects and processes administrative data, links those files with restricted federal microdata, and make the fully documented results available to researchers. Data compiled by IRIS bear on a host of interesting issues about the practice of modern science in a university setting, including return on investment, the productivity of scientific teams, and whether university science labs have spillover effects on local economies. Funds from this grant provide three years of support to IRIS to expand its operations and facilitate use of IRIS data by researchers.

    To support research on the economics of science that uses new data from universities about academic funding, spending, and training

    More
  • grantee: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    amount: $724,000
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2017

    To organize and support innovative research on the economics of digitization

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Economic Analysis of Science and Technology (EAST)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Shane Greenstein

    Digitization changes everything. The rapid decline in marginal costs for information storage, processing, and networking, for example, challenges many basic assumptions of textbook economics. Traditional concepts and analytical tools provide limited help understanding recent phenomena such as on-demand labor markets, zero-cost reproduction of copyrighted material, or exclusively ad-supported consumption goods. This grant provides three years of continued support to the Economics of Digitization Working Group at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Under the leadership of Professors Shane Greenstein and Josh Lerner from Harvard and Scott Stern from MIT, the working group brings together top scholars to address issues such as digital markets for books, music, and the news; online privacy and piracy; government regulation of the internet; the economic implications of artificial intelligence; and the economics of two-sided markets. Grant funds will support two meetings of the working group per year, an annual student tutorial, a small grant program to support new work on the economics of digitization, and outreach and support to the growing community of researchers interested in working on these and related issues.  

    To organize and support innovative research on the economics of digitization

    More
  • grantee: Haverford College
    amount: $302,246
    city: Haverford, PA
    year: 2017

    To teach more undergraduate social scientists about integrity, transparency, and reproducibility in empirical research

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Richard Ball

    Improving the reliability of empirical research will require many strategies over many years. One “theory of change” is to start at the beginning by targeting undergraduates during their first experiences with collecting, processing, and interpreting data. If inculcated in college, good habits and rigorous expectations can last a lifetime. The benefits will be seen not only among those who go on to become academics, but also among those who become doctors, lawyers, leaders, and informed citizens generally. With this motivation, economist Richard Ball has developed the Teaching Integrity in Empirical Research (TIER) Protocol, which guides novice researchers on how to work with data. Starting with liberal arts colleges, over 120 faculty have participated in extended workshops on how to teach this protocol, and it is being used in 25 courses, and been featured in webinars run by the American Statistical Association. Funds from this grant provide support to Ball to continue expanding valuable partnerships, training programs, and curricular development projects for the TIER protocol, with particular emphasis on improving its footprint at research universities.

    To teach more undergraduate social scientists about integrity, transparency, and reproducibility in empirical research

    More
  • grantee: The University of Chicago
    amount: $700,000
    city: Chicago, IL
    year: 2017

    To compile accurate and comprehensive microdata about household income by developing new methods for combining survey results with administrative data

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Bruce Meyer

    Funds from this grant support a project by economist Bruce Meyer of the University of Chicago to create a rich new dataset for the measurement of U.S. household income. Partnering with the Census Bureau, Meyer plans to link and reconcile data from a host of important, but currently separate government surveys and data sources, including the Current Population Survey, the Consumer Expenditure Survey, and American Community Survey, the Survey of Income and Program Participation, tax return data from the IRS, and information from important government programs like SNAP and TANF. The resulting dataset, to be called the Comprehensive Income Dataset, would significantly expand the analytic power of these datasets taken separately and would also ease several well-known obstacles to the measurement of U.S. household income. Grant funds will support the initial construction of the dataset, which will then be made available for use by scholars through Federal Statistical Data Research Centers.

    To compile accurate and comprehensive microdata about household income by developing new methods for combining survey results with administrative data

    More
  • grantee: New Jersey Institute of Technology
    amount: $509,038
    city: Newark, NJ
    year: 2017

    To develop and test privacy-protection techniques that enable researchers to collect and analyze sensitive data

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Kurt Rohloff

    Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) allows researchers to analyze encrypted data accurately without decrypting those data. It is an intriguing method for providing access to sensitive datasets while respecting both privacy concerns and licensing agreements and may eventually have significant use in privacy-protecting research protocols. This grant funds a project to demonstrate the usefulness of FHE algorithms in academic research. Computer scientists Kurt Rohloff from New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) and Shafi Goldwasser from MIT are partnering with the University of Michigan’s Institute for Research on Innovation and Science (IRIS). IRIS collects sensitive data from universities on grant spending and staffing. Rohloff and Goldwater will develop an FHE computing environment and associated algorithms designed to analyze this sensitive data while observing necessary privacy-protecting protocols. Grant funds will support graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and programmers working on the project, a social scientist to consult closely with the team about the needs and practices of empirical researchers, and outreach to potential users through workshops, publications, and presentations at professional conferences.

    To develop and test privacy-protection techniques that enable researchers to collect and analyze sensitive data

    More
  • grantee: Brookings Institution
    amount: $500,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2017

    To continue supporting the production and dissemination of accessible, reliable, and influential research through the Brookings Papers on Economic Activity

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Janice Eberly

    The conferences and journal volumes produced by the Brookings Papers on Economic Activity (BPEA) are premier outlets for policy-relevant research on economics. Biannual meetings feature invited speakers as well as a wide spectrum of policymakers, researchers, and other participants. Only commissioned papers that are carefully edited, presented, critiqued, and revised eventually appear in the journal, where they are published together with discussants’ written comments. Many of the most distinguished and active economists on the national scene regularly turn to this platform as a way of conveying timely ideas in a relatively nontechnical but highly visible format. All kinds of policymakers and media from across the political spectrum end up citing BPEA papers quite frequently. Brookings and the BPEA remain among the few institutions in Washington where respectful, impartial, nonpartisan, and evidence-based debate about economic issues still thrives. This grant provides three years of support for the continued publication of the BPEA. 

    To continue supporting the production and dissemination of accessible, reliable, and influential research through the Brookings Papers on Economic Activity

    More
  • grantee: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    amount: $281,750
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2017

    To provide partial support for the International Social Security (ISS) project in order to understand how labor force participation responds to Social Security reforms in 12 countries and to draw lessons for the United States

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Courtney Coile

    This grant supports an ongoing NBER project, the International Social Security (ISS) project, led by Courtney Coile and Axel Bцrsch-Supan, that will examine a variety of retirement and social safety net reforms that have been implemented in other countries, including Canada, Japan, and nine European countries. Teams of investigators from 12 countries (11 mentioned above and the U.S) will examine the precise financial incentives associated with those reforms and the effects of the changed financial incentives on work, retirement, and claiming behavior at older ages. The studies will use a common template, which will enable meaningful, if complicated, comparisons across countries. While the institutional and cultural contexts differ across countries to various degrees, the commonality of demographic pressures and the limited scope of options for restoring financial sustainability to retirement programs make the experiences of other countries directly relevant to Social Security reform discussions in the United States. 

    To provide partial support for the International Social Security (ISS) project in order to understand how labor force participation responds to Social Security reforms in 12 countries and to draw lessons for the United States

    More
  • grantee: Harvard University
    amount: $657,748
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2017

    To support research that addresses how work conditions shape observed employment transitions of older workers and how age and employment status affect preferences for working conditions

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Nicole Maestas

    This grant funds follow-up research by Harvard’s Nicole Maestas in the aftermath of the 2015 American Working Conditions Survey (AWCS). The AWCS is alone among major workplace surveys in its attention to cataloging both the pecuniary and the nonpecuniary characteristics of jobs, which allows researchers to analyze how these characteristics shape older Americans’ decisions regarding working into later ages. In tandem with the AWCS, Maestas fielded a stated preference experiment designed to assess how much older workers value different job characteristics. Funds from this grant will allow Maestas to reconnect with survey participants three years after the original ACWS survey, allowing the collection of new data and enabling a clearer look into both how workplace characteristics shape retirement decisions and the dynamics of how worker preferences about the desirability of various workplace characteristics change over time. 

    To support research that addresses how work conditions shape observed employment transitions of older workers and how age and employment status affect preferences for working conditions

    More
  • grantee: Princeton University
    amount: $383,891
    city: Princeton, NJ
    year: 2017

    To improve the Contingent Worker Supplement (CWS) questions in order to increase validity, reduce measurement error, and include appropriate categories of alternative workers

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Alan Krueger

    Our understanding of the size and characteristics of the alternative work force—freelance workers, contract workers, contingent workers, on-call workers, temporary workers, etc.—is severely limited by inadequate federal surveys. They are inadequate in several ways: lack of a clear and agreed upon taxonomy of work; questionable phrasing of questions; sporadic fielding of the surveys; and failure to take into account entirely new forms of work, often referred to as the gig economy, the platform economy, or the on-demand economy.   The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is fielding its first Contingent Work Survey (CWS) in 10 years. This grant funds a project by Princeton economist Alan Krueger and Edward Freeland, Director of the Princeton Survey Research Center to identify and examine ways to improve the CWS questions in order to increase validity, reduce measurement error, and determine if new or additional categories of alternative work are needed.

    To improve the Contingent Worker Supplement (CWS) questions in order to increase validity, reduce measurement error, and include appropriate categories of alternative workers

    More
  • grantee: Brandeis University
    amount: $413,385
    city: Waltham, MA
    year: 2017

    To create the first comprehensive database, with ages and genders, of approximately two million inventors who received a U.S. patent between 1976 and 2012 and to measure how inventive creativity varies over the life course of inventors

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Margie Lachman

    Research shows a shifting balance of gains and losses in cognitive abilities throughout adulthood, with increases in experience-based knowledge and decreases in the ability to process new information quickly and efficiently. However, as is the case with much psychological research, little is known about how these ability changes manifest in daily life, including in the workplace. This grant supports a project by psychologist Margie Lachman and economist Adam Jaffe to study creative output over the life course by augmenting and analyzing a large dataset of more than two million patent holders. Lachman and Jaffe will use the dataset to examine such questions as the extent to which individuals are able to maintain or increase the quality and quantity of their innovative work, whether this varies by sector or gender, and whether teams that bring older and younger workers together are less or more creative than teams that are less age-diverse. This research will result in new knowledge and important insights for economists, psychologists, and other social scientists who are interested in how aging-related cognitive changes can affect innovation across life trajectories and across different types of teams. The creation of the new database will also facilitate further research.

    To create the first comprehensive database, with ages and genders, of approximately two million inventors who received a U.S. patent between 1976 and 2012 and to measure how inventive creativity varies over the life course of inventors

    More
  • grantee: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    amount: $437,161
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2017

    To compare the retirement paths of public and private employees, assessing differences in working conditions, retirement benefits, and government regulations and impacts on the age of retirement from career jobs and the likelihood of post-retirement work

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Robert Clark

    Public sector and private sector employees experience what appear to be distinctly different routes from full-time employment to full-time retirement. This grant funds research by North Carolina State University’s Robert Clark and Harvard’s Joseph Newhouse that will compare the retirement paths of public and private workers and assess how working conditions, retirement benefits, and government regulations impact the age of retirement and the likelihood of working after retirement. Clark and Newhouse will commission 16 research studies that will examine the impact of pensions, health policies, employment rules, and government programs and regulations on the timing of when older workers leave their jobs, their potential for working after retirement, and how these differ for public and private sector employees. The research will be carried out in two waves, with eight projects and a capstone research conference for each wave.?

    To compare the retirement paths of public and private employees, assessing differences in working conditions, retirement benefits, and government regulations and impacts on the age of retirement from career jobs and the likelihood of post-retirement work

    More
  • grantee: Stanford University
    amount: $234,987
    city: Stanford, CA
    year: 2017

    To enhance the understanding of the options faced by households whose previous retirement plans now appear unrealistic, perhaps due to slow growth, lower than projected wage growth, or poor past or projected asset returns

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator John Shoven

    Many economists predict that the global economy is entering a sustained period of historically low productivity and real wage growth. This grant funds work by economists John Shoven and Sita Slavov that will analyze the implications of working longer and strategies for saving for retirement in a such a low-growth, low-return, low real-wage-growth environment. How do optimal retirement and savings strategies change as the prospects of robust economic growth dim? This research will include two projects related to the broader theme of retirement-focused behaviors in a slow growth economy. The first will focus on the measuring the benefits accruing to working longer in a low-return environment. Using data taken from the influential Health and Retirement Study (HRS), Shoven and Slavov they will compute the rate of return to working longer for HRS respondents between ages 50 and 62 using a life cycle model that assumes individuals face borrowing constraints and that incorporates the actuarial benefit adjustments they receive when they delay Social Security The second project will explore in depth the impact of low wage growth and low asset returns in a slow growth economy. Shoven and Slavov will work through the theoretical implications of optimal savings and working decisions. Because savings depresses current standards of living in exchange for future benefits, the attractiveness of saving drops as asset returns slow. Likewise, the attractiveness of future work dips as wage growth slows. Shoven and Slavov will work out how these differing factors interact under standard economic modeling assumptions, paying special attention to the implications for working longer to raise or maintain living standards. The two projects form interesting and compelling research agenda that has real-life consequences for millions of Americans.

    To enhance the understanding of the options faced by households whose previous retirement plans now appear unrealistic, perhaps due to slow growth, lower than projected wage growth, or poor past or projected asset returns

    More
  • grantee: Stanford University
    amount: $599,839
    city: Stanford, CA
    year: 2017

    To support a conference series in order to foster more research and policy discussion about changing labor market institutions to accommodate increased longevity

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator John Shoven

    The annual Stanford Institute Economic Research (SIEPR) Working Longer Conferences allow researchers working at the intersection of aging and work to present their findings, compare approaches, imagine new projects, and get constructive feedback from fellow researchers. Over the past four years, more than 90 different scholars have presented high-quality research as authors, co-authors, or discussants, and each conference has averaged 60 to 70 attendees. The conferences also provide the opportunity for Sloan to identify new potential grantees and to introduce and welcome junior scholars to the community of working longer researchers. This grant provides funds to Stanford University to continue organizing, administering, and hosting the SIEPR Working Longer conferences for an additional three years.

    To support a conference series in order to foster more research and policy discussion about changing labor market institutions to accommodate increased longevity

    More
  • grantee: National Public Radio, Inc.
    amount: $600,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2017

    To deepen and expand Planet Money’s coverage of economics via podcast episodes, on-air radio stories, and participatory journalism

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Radio
    • Investigator Christopher Turpin

    Funds from this grant continue support for the production of Planet Money, National Public Radio’s award-winning, signature foray into exploring the changing American economy via in-depth stories that examine key economic issues for a general audience in an accurate, accessible, and engaging way. Grant funds support production of the twice-weekly Planet Money podcast, shorter segments that air on NPR’s popular Morning Edition and All Things Considered, multipart series to explore complex subjects at greater depth, and experiments in  "participatory journalism" like "Planet Money Bought Some Oil," where Planet Money journalists directly participate in specific industries to help illuminate their processes. Planned activities over the two-year grant period include  a 10-part series on the history of the U.S. economy over the past 200 years that will examine subjects such as central banking, national debt, and the modern, multinational corporation; and new participatory journalism projects such as exploring the business of commercial space satellites.

    To deepen and expand Planet Money’s coverage of economics via podcast episodes, on-air radio stories, and participatory journalism

    More
  • grantee: WGBH Educational Foundation
    amount: $2,000,000
    city: Boston, MA
    year: 2017

    To support the production of four prime time American Experience documentary films about the role of science and technology in history

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Television
    • Investigator Mark Samels

    This grant provides funds to the popular television history series American Experience for the production of four new shows for a total of eight hours of new, prime time science programming over the next two years. Supported shows include one two-hour series on the history of the eugenics movement (“Eugenics on Trial”) and one four-hour series about the decade-long U.S. effort to reach the moon (“Chasing the Moon”). The other two shows include a one-hour documentary about Alfred Loomis and the team of scientists who helped develop radar and the atomic bomb during World War II (“Tuxedo Park”), and a one-hour special  about advances in the science of deep sea exploration and rescue (“SeaLab”).

    To support the production of four prime time American Experience documentary films about the role of science and technology in history

    More
  • grantee: Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association Inc.
    amount: $1,000,000
    city: Arlington, VA
    year: 2017

    To continue weekly broadcast of Paul Solman's economic and business coverage Making Sen$e on PBS NewsHour and to support online, social and mobile platforms with related content

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Television
    • Investigator Lee Koromvokis

    This grant continues support for the PBS NewsHour’s regular weekly broadcast of Making Sen$e with Paul Solman, a series that explains business and economic issues clearly and engagingly to a general audience both on air and online. Grant funds support the production of 52 Making Sen$e broadcast video reports each year on major issues facing the American and global economy. Additional funds support the production of hundreds of original pieces of web content, including long-form think pieces written by economists or based on Paul Solman's interviews with economists. The NewsHour also has a formalized partnership with NBER to feature its economists, and the reach of its segments is magnified by dissemination on Extra, the NewsHour’s educational website, on PBS Teachers, and on partner sites such as the Council for Economic Education’s econedlink.org. Planned segments over the grant period include many topics that address the economic concerns of everyday Americans. Questions to be investigated include, among others: What's going to happen if Obamacare is repealed? What rate of economic growth is plausible? Why has there been a reversal of mortality for middle-aged white men? Can jobs in the coal industry come back?

    To continue weekly broadcast of Paul Solman's economic and business coverage Making Sen$e on PBS NewsHour and to support online, social and mobile platforms with related content

    More
  • grantee: L.A. Theatre Works
    amount: $500,000
    city: Venice, CA
    year: 2017

    To record four new Sloan plays for public radio broadcast and online streaming, and to develop a new 12-play podcast while disseminating 20 science plays to millions of people and thousands of libraries and schools

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Theater
    • Investigator Susan Loewenberg

    The grant continues support for for the Relativity Series, a Foundation partnership with LA Theatre Works (LATW) to produce, broadcast, and disseminate audio versions of science- or technology-themed plays. Relativity now totals 32 science plays, of which 20 have been commissioned, developed, and/or produced by the Sloan Theater program. Productions are high-quality and feature leading actors, giving recorded plays a life well after their theatrical runs. They are broadcast on over 50 public radio stations in the U.S., on Radio Beijing in China, and on radio in many English-speaking nations. Productions are also distributed via streaming and downloading on the Internet, through educational outreach to over 3,000 teachers and 13,000 community libraries, and through distribution partners such as iTunes, Audible, Amazon, and Overdrive. Grant funds will enable L.A. Theatre Works to produce and distribute audio version of four new science-themed plays over the next two years. Additional funds support a variety of initiatives to expand the reach and impact of the Relativity catalog, including a podcast series; a new website; an educational app; and print, online, and social media outreach.

    To record four new Sloan plays for public radio broadcast and online streaming, and to develop a new 12-play podcast while disseminating 20 science plays to millions of people and thousands of libraries and schools

    More
  • grantee: Colorado School of Mines
    amount: $277,334
    city: Golden, CO
    year: 2017

    To provide early-career economists and other social scientists with training and an understanding of technological dimensions of electricity distribution systems

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Ian Lange

    To properly understand and model the changing US electricity distribution grid, economists and other social scientists need in-depth training on the technological and engineering complexities of the electricity distribution system. This grant provides funding to the Colorado School of Mines (CSM) to organize and host a week-long summer school for early-career economists and other social scientists designed to provide such training. Each week-long summer school, to be held twice each summer over the course of two summers, would include tailored classroom training; engagement and lectures by senior utility, government, and nongovernmental experts; and an experiential component through tutorials held at NREL’s Energy Systems Integration Facility. Participating expert instructors include those in distribution systems planning (Doug Arent and Michael Coddington), grid integration (Barbara O’Neill), and power systems engineering (Benjamin Kroposki). Summer school participants—which include advanced graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty—will be broadly recruited from professional societies, such as the Association of Environmental and Resource Economics and the United States Association of Energy Economics, and from with universities that have doctoral programs with a strong focus in energy economics.

    To provide early-career economists and other social scientists with training and an understanding of technological dimensions of electricity distribution systems

    More
  • grantee: Boston University
    amount: $424,360
    city: Boston, MA
    year: 2017

    To develop, evaluate, and transfer to practice a robust framework of distribution locational marginal prices that can improve efficiencies in electricity distribution

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Michael Caramanis

    This grant funds work by power systems expert Michael Caramanis to develop a sophisticated, granular framework for pricing electricity at different points on the electricity distribution grid, especially for those systems that feature increased levels of load varying distributed energy resources like consumer solar panels. Decades ago, the introduction of locational marginal prices (LMPs) helped to match generation and consumption in the bulk power system. Caramanis plans to extend this framework and take on the more technically complex challenge of developing distribution network locational marginal prices (DLMP) for different nodes in the electricity distribution grid. After developing algorithms to model DLMP for electricity distribution, Caramais will work in close collaboration with at least two utilities to test his model on actual distribution system networks. The proposed work will help address a critical gap in the academic literature and could lead to improved regulatory policies regarding distribution network pricing.

    To develop, evaluate, and transfer to practice a robust framework of distribution locational marginal prices that can improve efficiencies in electricity distribution

    More
  • grantee: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    amount: $224,170
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2017

    To undertake a research project examining how market forces, public policies, and technological change affect energy consumption and use in the transportation sector

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Christopher Knittel

    This grant funds a project led by Meghan Busse (Northwestern), Christopher Knittel (MIT), and Kate Whitefoot (Carnegie Mellon University) to spur research on energy consumption in the transportation sector by fielding an open call for papers on the topic and providing funding and support to the best submissions. Areas of interest include changing patterns of personal vehicle demand, vehicle electrification, the economics of changing fuels for commercial and heavy-duty vehicles, and the rise of vehicle automation and ride-sharing.  The group will widely distribute an open call for papers, evaluate submissions, select eight papers to receive funding, organize an initial working session to discuss methodology and preliminary research approaches, and hold a final conference to share and disseminate results. Papers will be published as NBER working papers and then submitted to top economics journals.

    To undertake a research project examining how market forces, public policies, and technological change affect energy consumption and use in the transportation sector

    More
  • grantee: Institute of International Education
    amount: $750,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2017

    To provide 25 life-saving fellowships and academic placements for persecuted scholars from around the world over three years

    • Program Science
    • Investigator Sarah Willcox

    The Institute for International Education’s Scholar Rescue Fund rescues endangered scholars from any country and discipline in the world and relocates them to a safe haven where they can continue their work as teachers, researchers, writers, and intellectuals. To date, the Fund has rescued and awarded academic fellowships to 681 threatened scholars from 56 countries and relocated them to safety in 360 partner institutions in 42 countries, including such U.S. universities as Stanford, Columbia, Harvard, Cornell, and the University of Michigan. These academics have gone on to publish thousands of books and journal articles, often including groundbreaking research; they have filed dozens of scientific patents, attended thousands of academic conferences, and taught thousands of students. This grant provides support to the Scholar Rescue Fund for the rescue and safe relocation of 25 endangered scholars from STEM disciplines over the next three years.

    To provide 25 life-saving fellowships and academic placements for persecuted scholars from around the world over three years

    More
  • grantee: National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, Inc.
    amount: $630,000
    city: White Plains, NY
    year: 2017

    To support scholarships and program expenses for a three-year renewal of a University Center of Exemplary Mentoring (UCEM) at the University of South Florida

    • Program Higher Education
    • Initiative Minority Ph.D.
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Christopher Smith

    This grant continues three years of funding for the University Center of Exemplary Mentoring (UCEM) at the University of South Florida (USF). UCEMs provide scholarships and support services to STEM Ph.D. students who identify as African American/black, Hispanic/Latinx, or American Indian/Alaska Native and who are U.S. citizens. Supported students, known as Sloan Scholars, receive a $40,000 stipend, a standard doctoral student support package, and are eligible to participate in a host of professional development and mentoring opportunities designed to maximize the chances of succeeding in graduate study. For each supported student, UCEMs provide a full doctoral support package to a second minority student through an institutional matching program. In addition to scholarships, grants funds will support the continuation, expansion, and improvement of a host of recruitment, retention, and student support activities, including production of an operational manual of recruitment and retention processes and activities, further development of USF’s multidimensional mentoring model, and programs to help coordinate activities between Sloan Scholars in USF’s Engineering School with those in its College of Marine Sciences.

    To support scholarships and program expenses for a three-year renewal of a University Center of Exemplary Mentoring (UCEM) at the University of South Florida

    More
  • grantee: National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, Inc.
    amount: $2,000,000
    city: White Plains, NY
    year: 2017

    To provide scholarship support for the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership (SIGP) enabling consortium members to recruit, support, and graduate Indigenous students earning graduate degrees in STEM disciplines

    • Program Higher Education
    • Initiative Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Christopher Smith

    Funds from this grant provide scholarships to three years of cohorts of M.S. and Ph.D. students participating in the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership. Supported students are American Indian or Alaska Native scholars enrolled in graduate degree programs in STEM fields at one of the SIGP’s four participating campus systems: Purdue University, the University of Alaska (Anchorage and Fairbanks), the University of Arizona, and the Montana University System (University of Montana, Montana State University, and Montana Tech). Recruitment targets for the next three period include 20 new Native American Ph.D. students and 59 Native American master’s students, of whom 47 will be funded through Sloan funds and 12 will supported by matching funds from SIGP schools. Additional funds support administrative and financial management services provided by NACME, including processing of scholarship applications, EFT forms, and scholarship payments to three new cohorts of SIGP students; tracking scholars’ progression to graduation and recording first employment; participating in select AISES conferences where SIGP program meetings take place; maintaining working relationships with SIGP students, program directors, and program staff at all participating campuses; and reporting twice annually to Sloan on recruitment, retention, and graduation data.

    To provide scholarship support for the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership (SIGP) enabling consortium members to recruit, support, and graduate Indigenous students earning graduate degrees in STEM disciplines

    More
  • grantee: Purdue University
    amount: $383,754
    city: West Lafayette, IN
    year: 2017

    To recruit, support, and graduate Indigenous students earning graduate degrees in STEM disciplines through the consortial efforts of the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership (SIGP)

    • Program Higher Education
    • Initiative Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Kevin Gibson

    Funds from this grant support efforts to coordinate activities between the four campus systems of the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership (SIGP): the University of Arizona, Purdue University, the University of Alaska (Anchorage and Fairbanks), and the Montana University System (University of Montana, Montana State University, and Montana Tech). Goals for the SIGP over the three year grant period include recruitment of 20 new Native American Ph.D. students and 59 Native American M.S. students, an increase in the visibility of SIGP as a national resource for institutions seeking to improve Native American graduate student success in STEM fields; growth in the number of faculty (Native and non-Native) who are knowledgeable about the best practices for mentoring Native students, maintenance of high retention and graduation rates for students in the program, and improved engagement and presence of the SIGP on social media.  Grant funds support administrative and programmatic expenses associated with these goals. Funds for student scholarships over this period are provided through a separate grant to the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME).

    To recruit, support, and graduate Indigenous students earning graduate degrees in STEM disciplines through the consortial efforts of the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership (SIGP)

    More
  • grantee: University of California, San Diego
    amount: $749,760
    city: La Jolla, CA
    year: 2017

    To investigate the fundamental chemistry of indoor surfaces

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Chemistry of Indoor Environments
    • Investigator Vicki Grassian

    This grant supports efforts by Vicki Grassian, Distinguished Professor of Physical Chemistry at the University of California, San Diego, to monitor the chemistry that occurs on indoor surfaces. Grassian and her team will compare surface adsorption and surface reactions (kinetics, extent of reaction) over a range of different types of material surfaces found in homes, offices, and public spaces, including glass (windows), titanium dioxide (paints and self-cleaning surfaces), concrete, and drywall. She will conduct these experiments on model systems to better understand the chemistry of these materials, as well as on surfaces coated with thin films to determine if they behave differently. Gases of interest include ozone, nicotine, cyclomethylsiloxanes (components of personal care products), ammonia, and co-mixtures of these. In addition, Grassian will conduct a series of controlled experiments that vary the relative humidity, temperature, and light surfaces are exposed to, and measure how chemical reaction mechanisms and reaction kinetics vary across cases. An important aspect of this research is to understand how these factors drive the chemistry of indoor surfaces with gases present in indoor environments. They plan to probe the molecular processes that occur on these indoor surfaces using molecular-based probes such as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, vibrational spectroscopy, and scanning probe techniques such as atomic force microscopy. This project will characterize many of the physical and chemical transformations taking place on indoor surfaces and generate new data for indoor chemistry models. This proposal will provide a molecular-level understanding of chemistry on indoor surfaces as affected by important factors such as organic coatings, light, and relative humidity. The results will be shared through peer-reviewed publications and presentations at conferences and meetings. At least two students and one postdoc will be trained.

    To investigate the fundamental chemistry of indoor surfaces

    More
  • grantee: Stony Brook Foundation
    amount: $15,000
    city: Stony Brook, NY
    year: 2017

    To support diverse participation by graduate students in a summer workshop on macro, behavioral, and experimental economics

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Behavioral and Regulatory Effects on Decision-making (BRED)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Yair Tauman

    To support diverse participation by graduate students in a summer workshop on macro, behavioral, and experimental economics

    More
  • grantee: Jon Gertner
    amount: $42,000
    city: Maplewood, NJ
    year: 2017

    To support the research and writing of a book, The Ice at the End of the World, on the scientific and technological history of Greenland with a special focus on climate change

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Jon Gertner

    To support the research and writing of a book, The Ice at the End of the World, on the scientific and technological history of Greenland with a special focus on climate change

    More
  • grantee: Jonathan Waldman
    amount: $50,000
    city: Boulder, CO
    year: 2017

    To support the research and writing of a general-interest nonfiction book about a small company’s efforts to build the world’s first commercially-viable bricklaying robot, called SAM

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Jonathan Waldman

    To support the research and writing of a general-interest nonfiction book about a small company’s efforts to build the world’s first commercially-viable bricklaying robot, called SAM

    More
  • grantee: National Science Communication Institute
    amount: $20,000
    city: Seattle, WA
    year: 2017

    To partially support the 2017 meeting of the Open Scholarship Initiative

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Glenn Hampson

    To partially support the 2017 meeting of the Open Scholarship Initiative

    More
  • grantee: Resources for the Future, Inc.
    amount: $20,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2017

    To support participation of top economists in a one-day conference focused on examining the landmark contributions to environmental economics of the essay “Conservation Reconsidered” on its fiftieth anniversary

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator V. Kerry Smith

    To support participation of top economists in a one-day conference focused on examining the landmark contributions to environmental economics of the essay “Conservation Reconsidered” on its fiftieth anniversary

    More
  • grantee: New York City H2O, Inc.
    amount: $20,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2017

    To provide support for 15 Water Ecology and Engineering Field Trips

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Matt Malina

    To provide support for 15 Water Ecology and Engineering Field Trips

    More
  • grantee: Industrial Organizational Society, Inc.
    amount: $20,000
    city: Boston, MA
    year: 2017

    To support graduate student presentations at the International Industrial Organization Conference

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Behavioral and Regulatory Effects on Decision-making (BRED)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Joseph Harrington

    To support graduate student presentations at the International Industrial Organization Conference

    More
  • grantee: Gordon Research Conferences
    amount: $20,000
    city: West Kingston, RI
    year: 2017

    To provide partial support for the 2017 Atmospheric Chemistry Gordon Research Conference

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Chemistry of Indoor Environments
    • Investigator Kimberly Prather

    To provide partial support for the 2017 Atmospheric Chemistry Gordon Research Conference

    More
  • grantee: Philanthropy New York
    amount: $28,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2017

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Kristen Ruff

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    More
  • grantee: Council on Foundations, Inc.
    amount: $25,000
    city: Arlington, VA
    year: 2017

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Phillip Blackmon

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    More
  • grantee: Technology Affinity Group
    amount: $5,000
    city: Wayne, PA
    year: 2017

    For 2017 Membership Dues

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Lisa Pool

    For 2017 Membership Dues

    More
  • grantee: Ohio State University
    amount: $20,000
    city: Columbus, OH
    year: 2017

    To support participation of early career scholars and students at the 2017 Energy Impacts Symposium

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Jeffrey Jacquet

    To support participation of early career scholars and students at the 2017 Energy Impacts Symposium

    More
  • grantee: New Venture Fund
    amount: $125,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2017

    To pilot a Science Philanthropy Alliance fellowship to train a PhD scientist in basic science philanthropy

    • Program
    • Investigator Bruce Boyd

    To pilot a Science Philanthropy Alliance fellowship to train a PhD scientist in basic science philanthropy

    More
  • grantee: Resources for the Future, Inc.
    amount: $124,708
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2017

    To develop a research agenda and workplan to comprehensively update the framework for social cost of carbon dioxide estimation to ensure that updated estimates reflect the best available science and economics analysis

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Raymond Kopp

    To develop a research agenda and workplan to comprehensively update the framework for social cost of carbon dioxide estimation to ensure that updated estimates reflect the best available science and economics analysis

    More
  • grantee: Council on Foreign Relations
    amount: $125,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2017

    To wind down support for current phase of research undertaken by the Program on Energy Security and Climate Change to examine the economic, geopolitical, and technological factors associated with advancing energy innovation

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Varun Sivaram

    To wind down support for current phase of research undertaken by the Program on Energy Security and Climate Change to examine the economic, geopolitical, and technological factors associated with advancing energy innovation

    More
  • grantee: Resources for the Future, Inc.
    amount: $189,629
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2017

    To develop and apply advanced data analytics tools that improve understanding about energy systems utilization

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Richard Newell

    To develop and apply advanced data analytics tools that improve understanding about energy systems utilization

    More
  • grantee: Public Lab
    amount: $124,849
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2017

    To support a workshop and associated roadmapping activities on open science hardware

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Shannon Dosemagen

    To support a workshop and associated roadmapping activities on open science hardware

    More
  • grantee: Carl Zimmer
    amount: $50,000
    city: Guilford, CT
    year: 2017

    To support the research and writing of a popular book on the nature of heredity, from its early history to the latest scientific findings and their implications for society

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Carl Zimmer

    To support the research and writing of a popular book on the nature of heredity, from its early history to the latest scientific findings and their implications for society

    More
  • grantee: Carnegie Mellon University
    amount: $13,473
    city: Pittsburgh, PA
    year: 2017

    To support a workshop on community code engagements in scientific software

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator James Herbsleb

    To support a workshop on community code engagements in scientific software

    More
  • grantee: Jared Farmer
    amount: $50,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2017

    To support the research and writing of a book on the human relationship with trees and what it says about our larger relationship with nature, Ancient Trees in Modern Times: A Natural History of Long?term Relationships

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Jared Farmer

    To support the research and writing of a book on the human relationship with trees and what it says about our larger relationship with nature, Ancient Trees in Modern Times: A Natural History of Long?term Relationships

    More
  • grantee: Memorial University of Newfoundland
    amount: $49,800
    city: St. John's, NL, Canada
    year: 2017

    To share the key results from the Chemistry of Indoor Environments program and the Microbiology of the Built Environment program

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Chemistry of Indoor Environments
    • Investigator Cora Young

    To share the key results from the Chemistry of Indoor Environments program and the Microbiology of the Built Environment program

    More
  • grantee: WGBH Educational Foundation
    amount: $1,000,000
    city: Boston, MA
    year: 2016

    For a two-hour NOVA special, Beyond the Elements, that investigates the substances composed of the elements in the periodic table and accompanying educational outreach and marketing

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Television
    • Investigator Paula Apsell

    Funds from this grant support the production of a two-hour NOVA special, Beyond the Elements, that will explore the millions of substances that make up everything in our world or that we create from about 100 naturally occurring elements in the periodic table. Conceived as a follow-up to NOVA’s popular (and also Sloan-supported) Hunting the Elements, the special will be divided into thematic segments. One will focus on the chemistry of substances that drove trade during humanity’s age of exploration, such as salt, pepper, caffeine, nicotine, morphine, silk, and porcelain. Another will focus on molecules related to life itself, such as amino acids, DNA, nitrogen, and the molecular changes caused when we cook food. A third segment will focus on synthetic molecules, such as neoprene, nylon, and Kevlar, that are produced through modern industrial processes. This special will be hosted by popular technology writer David Pogue, and will be accompanied by significant online and on-air outreach efforts by NOVA, including a 3- to 5-minute immersive video piece about a molecule that changed the course of history, a suite of online articles on NOVA Next, a collection of PBS Learning Media resources, virtual field trips for science classrooms, and screening events at museums and science centers.

    For a two-hour NOVA special, Beyond the Elements, that investigates the substances composed of the elements in the periodic table and accompanying educational outreach and marketing

    More
  • grantee: Wikimedia Foundation
    amount: $3,015,000
    city: San Francisco, CA
    year: 2016

    To transform Wikipedia Commons' media files from free text into machine-readable, structured data, enabling new uses for millions of media files on Wikipedia and across the web

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Universal Access to Knowledge
    • Investigator Katherine Maher

    Wikimedia Commons is the world's largest repository of freely licensed educational media, with 34 million photo, video, and audio files, and is growing by some five million files a year—faster than Wikipedia itself—as people submit photos and image-rich institutions their collections. Unfortunately, most of those files are not accessible either to Wikipedia text searches or to the rest of the internet because they lack good metadata. To address the lack of metadata, the Wikimedia Foundation has launched the Structured Data on Commons Project, an ambitious attempt to create infrastructure and tools that will transform all the media files on Wikimedia Commons into an accessible form—known as structured, linked data—that is machine readable and will enable easy search of the Commons by Wikipedia readers and contributors; by educational, cultural, and scientific organizations; and by anyone with access to the web. Once cleaned and integrated, the structured data for each file can be understood by machines and linked to other content on the wider internet. The structured data can also be instantly available in any language, answering a huge need for the 289 languages that comprise Wikipedia and facilitating greater interoperability among language communities. Structured data will also allow developers both within and outside Wikipedia to create software tools to help with use and reuse of these files. It will help contributors more effectively illustrate Wikipedia content and it will enable readers to more quickly and easily find the right media and share it. It will also allow for more partnerships with content providers and provide incentives for these providers to structure their media when releasing it to the public.

    To transform Wikipedia Commons' media files from free text into machine-readable, structured data, enabling new uses for millions of media files on Wikipedia and across the web

    More
  • grantee: Digital Public Library of America, Inc.
    amount: $1,497,674
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2016

    To leverage DPLA's national network for the creation of a free eBook collection available in 50 states and a pilot eBook marketplace for thousands of libraries and schools

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Universal Access to Knowledge
    • Investigator Daniel Cohen

    Funds from this grant support a two-pronged initiative by the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) to significantly expand access to eBooks for thousands of libraries and schools across the country. First, DPLA plans to improve the curation and distribution of open eBook content by creating a new DPLA eBook collection, which it will make available to 16,000 libraries across the country. Working with authors, publishers, and both corporate and nonprofit partners, the DPLA collection will include at least 3,000 popular fiction and nonfiction titles, textbooks, and educational resources, all formatted in the highly flexible EPUB format. Second, the DPLA will pilot a new spin-off entity, which will use market-based methods to increase the availability and reduce the price of eBooks from publishers and potentially generate revenue for DPLA and its library partners. Building on work done with the New York Public Library, the DPLA will explore different revenue models for a nationwide marketplace for buying eBooks, with licensing restrictions, that aims to enable low-cost bulk purchases of eBooks for statewide virtual libraries, promising to significantly expand access to eBooks to millions across the country.

    To leverage DPLA's national network for the creation of a free eBook collection available in 50 states and a pilot eBook marketplace for thousands of libraries and schools

    More
  • grantee: North Carolina State University
    amount: $80,000
    city: Raleigh, NC
    year: 2016

    To support research and writing of a book, "Never Home Alone," that engages the general public in the history and science of the microbiology of the built environment

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Robert Dunn

    To support research and writing of a book, "Never Home Alone," that engages the general public in the history and science of the microbiology of the built environment

    More
  • grantee: Oren Harman
    amount: $50,000
    city: Tel Aviv, Israel
    year: 2016

    To support the writing of a book, Evolutions, that juxtaposes the most current scientific understanding of cosmology and the evolution with myths

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Oren Harman

    To support the writing of a book, Evolutions, that juxtaposes the most current scientific understanding of cosmology and the evolution with myths

    More
  • grantee: Adam Becker
    amount: $50,000
    city: Oakland, CA
    year: 2016

    To research and write a book on the history of the foundations of quantum physics, with a particular emphasis on the continued dominance of the troubled "Copenhagen interpretation"

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Adam Becker

    To research and write a book on the history of the foundations of quantum physics, with a particular emphasis on the continued dominance of the troubled "Copenhagen interpretation"

    More
  • grantee: Charles Graeber
    amount: $50,000
    city: Brooklyn, NY
    year: 2016

    To support the writing of a book, The Breakthrough, to enhance public understanding of the science behind recent advances in cancer immunotherapy

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Charles Graeber

    To support the writing of a book, The Breakthrough, to enhance public understanding of the science behind recent advances in cancer immunotherapy

    More
  • grantee: University of Maryland, College Park
    amount: $50,000
    city: College Park, MD
    year: 2016

    To support development and outreach activities of the SocArXiv preprint server

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Philip Cohen

    To support development and outreach activities of the SocArXiv preprint server

    More
  • grantee: University of Minnesota Foundation
    amount: $75,000
    city: Minneapolis, MN
    year: 2016

    To expand public awareness of the groundbreaking work of Santiago Ramon y Cajal, the father of modern neuroscience, through an exhibition and book of his drawings

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program New Media
    • Investigator Lyndel King

    To expand public awareness of the groundbreaking work of Santiago Ramon y Cajal, the father of modern neuroscience, through an exhibition and book of his drawings

    More
  • grantee: Michigan State University
    amount: $120,000
    city: East Lansing, MI
    year: 2016

    To support Jean Pierre Nshimyimana in studying the role of the virome in the microbiological stability of the aquatic built environment

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Joan Rose

    To support Jean Pierre Nshimyimana in studying the role of the virome in the microbiological stability of the aquatic built environment

    More
  • grantee: Filmmakers Collaborative
    amount: $100,000
    city: Melrose, MA
    year: 2016

    To support the development of "FRONTIERS," a new television show that profiles scientists as explorers conducting research across the globe

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Television
    • Investigator Jen Myronuk

    To support the development of "FRONTIERS," a new television show that profiles scientists as explorers conducting research across the globe

    More
  • grantee: University of Waterloo
    amount: $125,000
    city: Waterloo, ON, Canada
    year: 2016

    To launch an organization that will compile and encode mathematical knowledge to make it more searchable, computable, linkable, checkable, and usable

    • Program Science
    • Investigator Stephen Watt

    To launch an organization that will compile and encode mathematical knowledge to make it more searchable, computable, linkable, checkable, and usable

    More
  • grantee: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
    amount: $111,665
    city: Piscataway, NJ
    year: 2016

    To develop conceptual and empirical frameworks that advance the study of STEM labor markets

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Economic Analysis of Science and Technology (EAST)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Harold Salzman

    To develop conceptual and empirical frameworks that advance the study of STEM labor markets

    More
  • grantee: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    amount: $115,000
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2016

    To enable academic research on Nielsen’s commercial data about what consumers watch and buy

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Economic Analysis of Science and Technology (EAST)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Andrew Sweeting

    To enable academic research on Nielsen’s commercial data about what consumers watch and buy

    More
  • grantee: FPF Education and Innovation Foundation
    amount: $125,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2016

    To survey corporations about best practices for sharing their administrative data with academic researchers

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Jules Polonetsky

    To survey corporations about best practices for sharing their administrative data with academic researchers

    More
  • grantee: Stanford University
    amount: $80,668
    city: Stanford, CA
    year: 2016

    To convene a conference of academic researchers and human resource practitioners to discuss practical ideas to apply emerging academic research to managing an aging workforce

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator John Shoven

    To convene a conference of academic researchers and human resource practitioners to discuss practical ideas to apply emerging academic research to managing an aging workforce

    More
  • grantee: Council for the Advancement of Science Writing, Inc.
    amount: $25,000
    city: Hedgesville, WV
    year: 2016

    To sponsor four sessions at the 2017 World Conference of Science Journalists to advance the effective use of traditional, emerging and interactive media to inform public conversation about science

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program New Media
    • Investigator Rosalind Reid

    To sponsor four sessions at the 2017 World Conference of Science Journalists to advance the effective use of traditional, emerging and interactive media to inform public conversation about science

    More
  • grantee: Yeshiva University
    amount: $20,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2016

    To support collaboration between mathematicians from the US and Europe on the study of finite and infinite dimensional dynamical systems

    • Program Science
    • Investigator Marian Gidea

    To support collaboration between mathematicians from the US and Europe on the study of finite and infinite dimensional dynamical systems

    More
  • grantee: Carnegie Mellon University
    amount: $20,000
    city: Pittsburgh, PA
    year: 2016

    To advance research on belief-based utility in behavioral economics by holding a conference for leading economists and psychologists

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Behavioral and Regulatory Effects on Decision-making (BRED)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Russell Golman

    To advance research on belief-based utility in behavioral economics by holding a conference for leading economists and psychologists

    More
  • grantee: Cornell University
    amount: $19,967
    city: Ithaca, NY
    year: 2016

    To support a workshop for researchers and practitioners on how social science experiments can serve the public interest

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Adam Levine

    To support a workshop for researchers and practitioners on how social science experiments can serve the public interest

    More
  • grantee: St. Edmunds College, University of Cambridge
    amount: $55,000
    city: Cambridge, United Kingdom
    year: 2016

    To write the first history of deep carbon science, a book titled “Carbon from Crust to Core”

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Simon Mitton

    To write the first history of deep carbon science, a book titled “Carbon from Crust to Core”

    More
  • grantee: Northwestern University
    amount: $40,481
    city: Evanston, IL
    year: 2016

    To examine how surface finishes impact the indoor microbiome and their collection of antibiotic resistant genes

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Erica Hartmann

    To examine how surface finishes impact the indoor microbiome and their collection of antibiotic resistant genes

    More
  • grantee: Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art
    amount: $124,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2016

    To support two sessions of the Cooper Union STEM Saturdays program to engage talented at risk NYC high school students in engineering activities

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator George Delagrammatikas

    To support two sessions of the Cooper Union STEM Saturdays program to engage talented at risk NYC high school students in engineering activities

    More
  • grantee: University of Missouri, Columbia
    amount: $104,906
    city: Columbia, MO
    year: 2016

    To study health and sustainability of open online communities and develop a set of indicators thereof

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Sean Goggins

    To study health and sustainability of open online communities and develop a set of indicators thereof

    More
  • grantee: Harvard University
    amount: $19,840
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2016

    To support workshops on the creation of standards for entering temporal data into timeline visualization tools

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Alyssa Goodman

    To support workshops on the creation of standards for entering temporal data into timeline visualization tools

    More
  • grantee: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    amount: $68,531
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2016

    To support workshops for planning data collection and causal research about scientific fellowships and careers

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Economic Analysis of Science and Technology (EAST)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Paula Stephan

    To support workshops for planning data collection and causal research about scientific fellowships and careers

    More
  • grantee: Mathematical Sciences Research Institute
    amount: $124,982
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2016

    To inform graduate students about mathematical theories, applications, and opportunities associated with high dimensional data analysis by holding a two-week summer workshop

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Helene Barcelo

    To inform graduate students about mathematical theories, applications, and opportunities associated with high dimensional data analysis by holding a two-week summer workshop

    More
  • grantee: National Academy of Sciences
    amount: $75,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2016

    To provide partial support for a consensus study on the management of legionella in water systems

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Laura Ehlers

    To provide partial support for a consensus study on the management of legionella in water systems

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Riverside
    amount: $19,990
    city: Riverside, CA
    year: 2016

    To support a conference on causal inference methodologies both in computer science and in the social sciences

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Kevin Esterling

    To support a conference on causal inference methodologies both in computer science and in the social sciences

    More
  • grantee: University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc.
    amount: $19,754
    city: Athens, GA
    year: 2016

    To test how behavioral factors can predict insurance choices

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Marc Ragin

    To test how behavioral factors can predict insurance choices

    More
  • grantee: Brandeis University
    amount: $45,500
    city: Waltham, MA
    year: 2016

    To support an international conference on heterogeneous agents and agent-based modeling in macroeconomics

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Financial and Institutional Modeling in Macroeconomics (FIMM)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Blake LeBaron

    To support an international conference on heterogeneous agents and agent-based modeling in macroeconomics

    More
  • grantee: University College London
    amount: $20,000
    city: London, United Kingdom
    year: 2016

    To support Microeconomic Insights, an online source for accessible summaries of high quality microeconomic research

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Richard Blundell

    To support Microeconomic Insights, an online source for accessible summaries of high quality microeconomic research

    More
  • grantee: Third Way Foundation
    amount: $93,500
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2016

    To develop, test, and calibrate models of how administrative data from online platforms relate to official employment statistics

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Michael Mandel

    To develop, test, and calibrate models of how administrative data from online platforms relate to official employment statistics

    More
  • grantee: The University of Chicago
    amount: $125,000
    city: Chicago, IL
    year: 2016

    To investigate the impact of the Social Security Retirement Earnings Test, which creates substantial disincentives for work, on the elderly employment rate

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Damon Jones

    To investigate the impact of the Social Security Retirement Earnings Test, which creates substantial disincentives for work, on the elderly employment rate

    More
  • grantee: University of Colorado, Boulder
    amount: $50,000
    city: Boulder, CO
    year: 2016

    To support planning activities to guide community building, education and outreach activities for the Chemistry of Indoor Environments program

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Chemistry of Indoor Environments
    • Investigator Marina Vance

    To support planning activities to guide community building, education and outreach activities for the Chemistry of Indoor Environments program

    More
  • grantee: Gordon Research Conferences
    amount: $20,000
    city: West Kingston, RI
    year: 2016

    To support partial travel and fees for 27 underrepresented participants to attend the Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Undergraduate Biology Education Research (UBER) focused on improving diversity, equity, and learning

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Susan Elrod

    To support partial travel and fees for 27 underrepresented participants to attend the Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Undergraduate Biology Education Research (UBER) focused on improving diversity, equity, and learning

    More
  • grantee: Universita di Roma La Sapienza
    amount: $102,753
    city: Roma, Italy
    year: 2016

    To conduct the third workshop of early career scientists of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Vincenzo Stagno

    To conduct the third workshop of early career scientists of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    More
  • grantee: Open Space Institute
    amount: $25,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2016

    To create permanent scientifically accurate interpretive and orientation exhibits at the new visitor center currently under construction at the park

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Erik Kulleseid

    To create permanent scientifically accurate interpretive and orientation exhibits at the new visitor center currently under construction at the park

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Berkeley
    amount: $95,158
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2016

    To develop, document, and freely distribute linked administrative data derived from federal tax and educational records

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Emmanuel Saez

    To develop, document, and freely distribute linked administrative data derived from federal tax and educational records

    More
  • grantee: Carnegie Mellon University
    amount: $124,916
    city: Pittsburgh, PA
    year: 2016

    To assess the contribution of light water small modular nuclear reactors to reduce carbon emissions from the United States energy system by 2050

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Granger Morgan

    To assess the contribution of light water small modular nuclear reactors to reduce carbon emissions from the United States energy system by 2050

    More
  • grantee: Harvard University
    amount: $90,070
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2016

    To conduct research and organize a conference examining the risks and benefits of solar geoengineering research

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Gernot Wagner

    To conduct research and organize a conference examining the risks and benefits of solar geoengineering research

    More
  • grantee: ProPublica
    amount: $125,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2016

    To research and publish data-driven systems investigations of the major trends, structures and programs shaping the lives of Americans age 60 forward with an eye to uncovering where these arrangements might limit opportunities or fail to adequately serve both 60-plus individuals and the broader society

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Peter Gosselin

    To research and publish data-driven systems investigations of the major trends, structures and programs shaping the lives of Americans age 60 forward with an eye to uncovering where these arrangements might limit opportunities or fail to adequately serve both 60-plus individuals and the broader society

    More
  • grantee: Mathematical Sciences Research Institute
    amount: $125,000
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2016

    To increase the number of underrepresented minorities in graduate programs in mathematics

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Helene Barcelo

    To increase the number of underrepresented minorities in graduate programs in mathematics

    More
  • grantee: Resources for the Future, Inc.
    amount: $10,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2016

    To support the 2017 Molly K. Macauley Award for Research Innovation and Advanced Analytics for Policy

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Margaret Walls

    To support the 2017 Molly K. Macauley Award for Research Innovation and Advanced Analytics for Policy

    More
  • grantee: University of Tulsa
    amount: $99,960
    city: Tulsa, OK
    year: 2016

    To develop a MoBE research roadmap to transition from basic research to practical applications

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Richard Shaughnessy

    To develop a MoBE research roadmap to transition from basic research to practical applications

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Davis
    amount: $91,063
    city: Davis, CA
    year: 2016

    To research the economics of energy efficiency, as recommended by a Request for Proposals review committee, focused on understanding how the targeting and timing of energy efficiency information provision impacts program participation

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Kevin Novan

    To research the economics of energy efficiency, as recommended by a Request for Proposals review committee, focused on understanding how the targeting and timing of energy efficiency information provision impacts program participation

    More
  • grantee: Wake Forest University
    amount: $249,933
    city: Winston-Salem, NC
    year: 2016

    To research the economics of energy efficiency, as recommended by a Request for Proposals review committee, focused on determining how management practices in the industrial sector impact energy efficiency

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Mark Curtis

    To research the economics of energy efficiency, as recommended by a Request for Proposals review committee, focused on determining how management practices in the industrial sector impact energy efficiency

    More
  • grantee: Western Washington University
    amount: $309,304
    city: Bellingham, WA
    year: 2016

    To research the economics of energy efficiency, as recommended by a Request for Proposals review committee, focused on quantifying the impact of energy efficiency on housing values

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Sharon Shewmake

    To research the economics of energy efficiency, as recommended by a Request for Proposals review committee, focused on quantifying the impact of energy efficiency on housing values

    More
  • grantee: University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
    amount: $349,700
    city: Champaign, IL
    year: 2016

    To research the economics of energy efficiency, as recommended by a Request for Proposals review committee, focused on evaluating the projected and realized savings from the Weatherization Assistance Program

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Erica Myers

    To research the economics of energy efficiency, as recommended by a Request for Proposals review committee, focused on evaluating the projected and realized savings from the Weatherization Assistance Program

    More
  • grantee: Ohio State University
    amount: $50,142
    city: Columbus, OH
    year: 2016

    To support a pilot study to establish methods and feasibility for determining how diurnal variation in relative humidity affects microbial communities in carpet

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Karen Dannemiller

    To support a pilot study to establish methods and feasibility for determining how diurnal variation in relative humidity affects microbial communities in carpet

    More
  • grantee: RAND Corporation
    amount: $125,000
    city: Santa Monica, CA
    year: 2016

    To analyze how technological change affected the retirement behavior of older workers in the last three decades with a case study of computerization, arguably the most important technological change of our era

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Peter Hudomiet

    To analyze how technological change affected the retirement behavior of older workers in the last three decades with a case study of computerization, arguably the most important technological change of our era

    More
  • grantee: GuideStar USA, Inc.
    amount: $10,000
    city: Williamsburg, VA
    year: 2016

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Beth Suarez

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    More
  • grantee: University of Oxford
    amount: $464,129
    city: Oxford, United Kingdom
    year: 2016

    To conduct a field campaign of the Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO) on differentiation of biotic and abiotic carbon uniting a dozen early career scientists representing all four DCO communities in a synoptic study exemplifying fulfillment of the DCO’s decadal goals

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Peter Barry

    Funds from this grant support a field project that aims to separate and quantify the sources, pathways, and fates of carbon that originated as mantle rock or as sedimentary biomass. The location of the fieldwork is west of Costa Rica, where the seafloor sinks or “subducts” beneath the Caribbean plate. A team led by Peter Barry of the University of Oxford will look closely at this subduction zone to see to what extent the burial of microbes (organic material rich in carbon) on the slab during oceanic sedimentation is a one-way road to death. Prior research estimates that 85 percent of the subducted carbon sinks under the tremendous pressure of gravity and the overlying plate into the deep, lifeless mantle, but recent measurements have detected unusually high carbon dioxide degassing from the zone. This opens the possibility that quite a lot of “biotic” carbon in deep seafloor mud might recycle as surface life. The project is a continuation of ongoing work by Deep Carbon Observatory scientists to probe the limits to life and accurately characterize the outer bound of pressures and temperatures that are nonlethal to some environmental microorganisms.

    To conduct a field campaign of the Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO) on differentiation of biotic and abiotic carbon uniting a dozen early career scientists representing all four DCO communities in a synoptic study exemplifying fulfillment of the DCO’s decadal goals

    More
  • grantee: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
    amount: $750,000
    city: Troy, NY
    year: 2016

    To continue to lead the data science and management dimensions of the Deep Carbon Observatory and contribute to program synthesis

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Peter Fox

    This grant continues support to the Data Science Team of the Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO), which provides data and computational infrastructure and services to the DCO membership. Led by Peter Fox at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the Data Science Team provides key services to the DCO. Supported activities include the development and progressive improvement of deepcarbon.net, management of the DCO’s scholar database, and hosting an archive of all DCO plans, policies, publications by member scholars, and scientific data collected or generated by hundreds of individual DCO research projects. In addition, the team is responsible for the DCO’s data science efforts, working with the community to turn DCO data into a searchable corpus that can be agglomerated and analyzed to reveal new geoscientific insights. Finally, the Data Management team is a crucial player in the larger effort to synthesize a series of deep Earth carbon models from knowledge gained from the DCO’s decade of research. Grant funds will provide operational support for these core functions for two years.

    To continue to lead the data science and management dimensions of the Deep Carbon Observatory and contribute to program synthesis

    More
  • grantee: University of Arizona
    amount: $231,050
    city: Tucson, AZ
    year: 2016

    To elucidate the concept of carbon mineral evolution

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Robert Downs

    This grant funds efforts by Robert Downs of the University of Arizona and Robert Hazen, cofounder of the Deep Carbon Observatory, to undertake a systematic application of evolutionary theories to carbon minerals. Downs and Hazen have argued persuasively that the lens of evolution fruitfully explains key aspects of diversification of mineral species, mineralization rates, and structural complexity through Earth’s 4.5 billion-year history. Two-thirds of Earth’s mineral species are biologically mediated, inextricably linking the geosphere and biosphere in co-evolution. Grant funds support two interconnected activities. First, Downs and Hazen will develop and exploit data resources, statistical modeling, and visualization tools to understand quantitatively Earth’s changing carbon mineralogy from crust to mantle. Second, they will expand and explore the Deep-Time Data Infrastructure, which combines mineralogy, petrology, geochemistry, and proteomics resources. Planned outputs include an open-access carbon mineral data base with more than 10,000 data sets for carbon-bearing minerals that include age, locality, and depth.

    To elucidate the concept of carbon mineral evolution

    More
  • grantee: University of Maryland, Baltimore
    amount: $249,289
    city: Baltimore, MD
    year: 2016

    To support a scientific meeting celebrating the accomplishments of the MoBE program in 2017

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Lynn Schriml

    Funds from this grant support MoBE 2017, a two-day Microbiology of the Built Environment Research and Applications Symposium to be held October 11–12, 2017 at the U.S. National Academies in Washington, D.C. The purpose of the symposium is to engage and inform potential funders and community stakeholders by highlighting research findings, identifying intersections with stakeholder missions, and showcasing a National Academies consensus study, Microbiomes of the Built Environment: From Research to Application, which documents the state of knowledge on the microbiome/built environment interface, identifies knowledge gaps, and sets out a list of prioritized areas for future research. Each day of the symposium will include one keynote speaker and four themed sessions. Topics to be discussed include the nexus of microbial exposure and building design, public health and indoor microbial communities, manipulating microbiome composition through architectural choices and material selection, and potential applications of indoor microbial research. A total of 160 guests are expected, including researchers, journalists, industry representatives, and policymakers from state, federal, and international government bodies. MoBE 2017 promises to be an important capstone event for the Foundation’s MoBE program as we near the end of planned grantmaking in 2017. If successful, it will engage and inform potential funders and community stakeholders from government agencies, philanthropic organizations, and companies, while celebrating the scientific achievements of the program.

    To support a scientific meeting celebrating the accomplishments of the MoBE program in 2017

    More
  • grantee: University of Texas, Austin
    amount: $255,734
    city: Austin, TX
    year: 2016

    To conduct a case study of how hidden spaces in a portable classroom building influence the indoor microbiome as a function of building ventilation and operation

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Kerry Kinney

    There are nearly 600,000 portable classrooms across the country. These “temporary” structures are plagued with problems: poor ventilation, water intrusion, high levels of formaldehyde, and insufficient building maintenance. The problems are particularly worrisome given that recent studies have shown that poor indoor air quality can reduce cognitive performance. This grant funds a team led by Professor Kerry Kinney at the University of Texas, Austin, to construct a case study examining how “hidden spaces” in a temporary-yet-permanent building influence the indoor microbiome. Hidden spaces like ceiling plenums and crawl spaces can be important vectors for the spread of microbes indoors. Dark, moist, and infrequently cleaned, such spaces often contain high levels of contaminants, which may subsequently be spread throughout the building by drafts. Studying actual portable classrooms, Kinney and her team plan to identify where microbes and other contaminants come from and where they go within classroom and hidden spaces, and then determine how positive and negative pressurization from ventilation systems affects the microbiota and other contaminants in various parts of the portable classroom The researchers will share their findings by publishing in building science, life science, and trade journals; in web posts; and by using social media to direct readers to these postings. The team will also make presentations at national and international meetings. Both a graduate student and a postdoctoral fellow will be trained in indoor microbiome and building science studies during the research.

    To conduct a case study of how hidden spaces in a portable classroom building influence the indoor microbiome as a function of building ventilation and operation

    More
  • grantee: Harvard University
    amount: $249,999
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2016

    To determine the metabolic activity of host- and environmentally-derived microbes in the public transportation microbiome

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Curtis Huttenhower

    Urban transportation systems have been studied as vectors for the transmission of infectious disease, but their role in moving harmless microbes among hosts is largely unknown. This grant funds a project by Curtis Huttenhower, associate professor of computational biology at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health and associate member of the Broad Institute, to determine the metabolic activity of host- and environmentally derived microbes in the public transportation microbiome and reconstruct associated biochemical pathways. Huttenhower’s study will determine the degree to which transit-associated microbial communities are functionally active as well as the basic microbial biochemical processes by which they persist in situ and (re-) transmit to and from human hosts. The team plans to share functional data and metadata through open access repositories. Manuscripts will be made open access whenever possible, and all software will be made freely available open source commensurate with the lab's existing work. The team expects to publish at least two papers and present the work at two conferences.

    To determine the metabolic activity of host- and environmentally-derived microbes in the public transportation microbiome

    More
  • grantee: Council for Economic Education
    amount: $290,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2016

    To promote economics education in metropolitan New York high schools by recognizing innovative teachers, spreading successful methods, and motivating diverse students

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Christopher Caltabiano

    Administered by the Council for Economic Education (CEE), the Sloan Teaching Champion Awards recognize excellent high school economics teachers from the New York metropolitan area. The candidates are selected annually based on their effectiveness, creativity, and ability to motivate underserved students. Three winning teachers receive a cash award of $5,000, and their schools each receive $2,500 to support economics education. Honorees are recognized at the CEE’s Visionary Awards dinner, which is attended by academic and practicing economists as well as business and civic leaders. Funds from this grant support administration of the Sloan Teaching Champion Awards for two years. Additional funds support a series of activities by CEE aimed at strengthening economic education in the New York metropolitan area, including six professional development workshops for economics teachers, a three-day teacher boot camp, a pilot program to test innovative economics curricula, and outreach efforts to increase participation.

    To promote economics education in metropolitan New York high schools by recognizing innovative teachers, spreading successful methods, and motivating diverse students

    More
  • grantee: New York University
    amount: $250,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2016

    To conduct a pilot project to discover protists in the pets (cats, dogs) and pests (rats, mice, cockroaches, pigeons) of New York City

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Jane Carlton

    Most of the advances in microbiology over the past 15 years have focused on bacteria and, to a lesser extent, on archaea and viruses. Protists (microbial eukaryotes), on the other hand, are relatively unstudied, in part because their genomes are large, complex, and poorly represented in the reference genome collections. Funds from this grant support work by Professor Jane Carlton, a leading protist metagenomic expert, to conduct a pilot project to discover protists in pets and pests in all five boroughs of New York City. Carlton will team up with researchers at Fordham University, Barnard College, Hunter College, and the Department of Environmental Protection to collect samples from 20 cats, 20 dogs, 20 rats, 20 mice, 20 cockroaches, and 20 pigeons from each of the five boroughs of New York City, for a total of 600 samples. The team will then use wet-lab methods and computational pipelines to characterize protists found in sewage collected from 14 NYC treatment plants, which service the five NYC boroughs. These data will then be used to amplify and characterize the 18S rRNA marker gene from the pet and pest samples to characterize community diversity and look for associations between the protists found in sewage and the pets and pests that harbor them. The overarching goal is to develop and demonstrate the viability of methods to reliably discover protists in host organisms.

    To conduct a pilot project to discover protists in the pets (cats, dogs) and pests (rats, mice, cockroaches, pigeons) of New York City

    More
  • grantee: Mozilla Foundation
    amount: $750,000
    city: Mountain View, CA
    year: 2016

    To increase open source project and community management capacity and build community among scientific software developers

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Stephanie Wright

    As computers and computational analysis becomes an increasingly central part of scientific practice, more and more scientists are becoming better and better at writing and amending software and code. What scientists often don’t know how to do, however, is to transition a piece of software from something built in their own lab to a sustainable open source, community-driven project. Open source software development, however, has proven to be one of the singularly most influential paths to widespread adoption, dissemination, and innovation in software development. In order for open source to be a viable sustainability strategy for some scientific software, there needs to be better support and training for scientists to “do open source.” This grant funds an initiative at the Mozilla Foundation to help train scientists in the launch and management of open source software development projects. Funded activities include the development of an expanded open science curriculum that details best practices for open source software development, project management, community organizing and facilitation, engaging noncoders, and data management. Additional grant funds support a series of workshops, online chats, and conference calls on these and related topics and and a community-based mentorship program.

    To increase open source project and community management capacity and build community among scientific software developers

    More
  • grantee: Abt Associates
    amount: $958,389
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2016

    To complete an evaluation of the Moore-Sloan Data Science Environments

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Luba Katz

    In 2013, the Foundation partnered with the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to launch a five-year, $37.8 million initiative that aspired to advance data-intensive scientific discovery, empowering researchers to be vastly more effective by utilizing new methods, new tools, new partnerships, and new career paths. The initiative led to the funding of three university partnerships, one with New York University, one with the University of California, Berkeley, and one with the University of Washington, to create Data Science Environments (DSEs) that would innovate new models for advancing data science at American universities. The centers would focus on three core goals: crafting meaningful interactions between data scientists and disciplinary scientists, experimenting with long-term, sustainable career paths for data scientists in the university system, and developing new analytical tools and research practices that will empower scholars to work effectively with data. Funds from this grant support a team at Abt Associates to document and evaluate the individual and joint progress of the three Moore-Sloan Data Science Environments. Combining qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis, the Abt team will document DSE goals and activities, provide annual reports to each DSE on its progress, and produce three major reports: a landscape survey of data science efforts in top U.S. research universities broadly (to contextualize the DSE activities); an implementation study of the actual execution of the DSE activities at the three universities; and an impact study that aims to understand the consequences of the unique DSE interventions on individual career paths and research outcomes as well as on institutional structures.

    To complete an evaluation of the Moore-Sloan Data Science Environments

    More
  • grantee: University of Washington
    amount: $1,100,000
    city: Seattle, WA
    year: 2016

    To advance data-intensive scientific discovery, empowering researchers to be vastly more effective by utilizing new methods, new tools, new partnerships, and new career paths

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Ed Lazowska

    In 2013, the Foundation partnered with the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to launch a five-year, $37.8 million initiative that aspired to advance data-intensive scientific discovery, empowering researchers to be vastly more effective by utilizing new methods, new tools, new partnerships, and new career paths. The initiative led to the funding of three university partnerships, one with New York University, one with the University of California, Berkeley, and one with the University of Washington, to create Data Science Environments (DSEs) that would innovate new models for advancing data science at American universities. The centers would focus on three core goals: crafting meaningful interactions between data scientists and disciplinary scientists, experimenting with long-term, sustainable career paths for data scientists in the university system, and developing new analytical tools and research practices that will empower scholars to work effectively with data. Initial funding in 2013 was for three years. This grant provides the anticipated final two years of funding.  

    To advance data-intensive scientific discovery, empowering researchers to be vastly more effective by utilizing new methods, new tools, new partnerships, and new career paths

    More
  • grantee: New York University
    amount: $1,100,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2016

    To advance data-intensive scientific discovery, empowering researchers to be vastly more effective by utilizing new methods, new tools, new partnerships, and new career paths

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Juliana Freire

    In 2013, the Foundation partnered with the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to launch a five-year, $37.8 million initiative that aspired to advance data-intensive scientific discovery, empowering researchers to be vastly more effective by utilizing new methods, new tools, new partnerships, and new career paths. The initiative led to the funding of three university partnerships, one with New York University, one with the University of California, Berkeley, and one with the University of Washington, to create Data Science Environments (DSEs) that would innovate new models for advancing data science at American universities. The centers would focus on three core goals: crafting meaningful interactions between data scientists and disciplinary scientists, experimenting with long-term, sustainable career paths for data scientists in the university system, and developing new analytical tools and research practices that will empower scholars to work effectively with data. Initial funding in 2013 was for three years. This grant provides the anticipated final two years of funding.  

    To advance data-intensive scientific discovery, empowering researchers to be vastly more effective by utilizing new methods, new tools, new partnerships, and new career paths

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Berkeley
    amount: $1,100,000
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2016

    To advance data-intensive scientific discovery, empowering researchers to be vastly more effective by utilizing new methods, new tools, new partnerships, and new career paths

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Saul Perlmutter

    In 2013, the Foundation partnered with the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to launch a five-year, $37.8 million initiative that aspired to advance data-intensive scientific discovery, empowering researchers to be vastly more effective by utilizing new methods, new tools, new partnerships, and new career paths. The initiative led to the funding of three university partnerships, one with New York University, one with the University of California, Berkeley, and one with the University of Washington, to create Data Science Environments (DSEs) that would innovate new models for advancing data science at American universities. The centers would focus on three core goals: crafting meaningful interactions between data scientists and disciplinary scientists, experimenting with long-term, sustainable career paths for data scientists in the university system, and developing new analytical tools and research practices that will empower scholars to work effectively with data. Initial funding in 2013 was for three years. This grant provides the anticipated final two years of funding.  

    To advance data-intensive scientific discovery, empowering researchers to be vastly more effective by utilizing new methods, new tools, new partnerships, and new career paths

    More
  • grantee: Phoenix Bioinformatics
    amount: $814,300
    city: Redwood City, CA
    year: 2016

    To firmly establish a nonprofit subscription funding model as a viable option for sustaining research repositories

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Eva Huala

    A 2015 Sloan Foundation grant to nonprofit Phoenix Bioinformatics supported the development and initial deployment of a paywall service for scientific databases. Sloan support enabled the organization to generalize its technical infrastructure to offer database providers fine-grained metering of access (and the ability to flexibly set the boundary between free and paid access), and develop customer-facing tools to allow institutional and national subscribers to manage and report on subscription use. Based on an assessment of its operating costs and likely growth opportunities, the organization has developed a realistic, fee-based funding model that promises to deliver long-term, independent sustainability within the next two years. Funds from this grant provide operational bridge funding to the organization while it implements this plan.

    To firmly establish a nonprofit subscription funding model as a viable option for sustaining research repositories

    More
  • grantee: Cornell University
    amount: $445,244
    city: Ithaca, NY
    year: 2016

    To support the planning and technical prototyping of the next generation arXiv preprint server

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Oya Rieger

    Created by Paul Ginsparg, arXiv is a popular preprint platform that has become an essential scholarly communication tool in much of physics, mathematics, and computer science. It is also running on 25-year-old software written in a language (Perl) for which developers are becoming hard to find, and thus maintenance is increasingly expensive. arXiv’s Cornell-based leadership team is embarking on a campaign to support a soup-to-nuts rebuild of arXiv’s database, submission and review workflows, and public interface. In 2016, the team conducted a user survey to identify features most in demand and hosted a technical workshop to identify the challenges of a redesign. The next step is to move from general principles to initial design and prototyping, testing various infrastructure options for the full rebuild. Funds from this grant will support this 18-month planning effort.  

    To support the planning and technical prototyping of the next generation arXiv preprint server

    More
  • grantee: University of Texas, Austin
    amount: $635,261
    city: Austin, TX
    year: 2016

    To raise the visibility of and improve incentives for software work as a contribution in the scientific literature

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator James Howison

    The writing of scientific software is an increasingly important part of modern scientific practice. Properly rewarding such activity requires the wide adoption of new citation practices where authors formally recognize the software they use in their work. Yet a change in citation practices would leave untouched the scientific literature produced to date, which is filled with explicit or implicit mentions of software in the body, footnotes, figures, or acknowledgments sections of articles. Funds from this grant support a project by James Howison of the University of Texas, Austin, School of Information, to develop means to identify software citations from the current corpus of scientific papers. Howison will assemble a team that includes technologists Heather Pirowar and Jason Priem, compile a gold-standard dataset of software references in the scientific literature, and then develop a machine learning system trained on that dataset to recognize software references in scientific articles. The team will then deploy, test, and refine this system in three different prototypes.

    To raise the visibility of and improve incentives for software work as a contribution in the scientific literature

    More
  • grantee: Annual Reviews
    amount: $800,000
    city: Palo Alto, CA
    year: 2016

    To publish a digital magazine that unlocks scientific research to inform the public discourse in multiple subjects with compelling, timely, and impartial knowledge

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Universal Access to Knowledge
    • Investigator Richard Gallagher

    Annual Reviews is a nonpro?t publisher of a prestigious series of multi?author reviews in 46 discipline?speci?c ?elds in natural and social science. From analytic chemistry to economics to virology, these reviews are considered authoritative syntheses of scienti?c developments in each ?eld as determined by 600 leading scientists and academics. Funds from this grant provide partial support for the launch of a digital magazine that would utilize its treasure trove of research to inform the public discourse. This new, web?based magazine will use essays, interviews, videos, podcasts, infographics, and animations to engage a broad audience and will feature the latest scienti?c research on a wide range of subjects, highlighting the real?world signi?cance of scienti?c research and demonstrating how it can illuminate subjects that might otherwise appear opaque, confusing, or controversial. Beyond the research community, the magazine is aimed at non–research professionals, the media, educators and students, policy specialists, patients and patient advocates, and the general public. The magazine would produce five to ten substantive text and multimedia items per week, plus one long video per month and weekly short videos. All items will be supported by two to three AR reviews freely available for a speci?ed period, allowing readers a deep dive into popular social issues. In addition, all magazine content will be free to read and with appropriate attribution to republish online and in print, signi?cantly increasing its value for research, education, and innovation and multiplying the readership, especially on social media.

    To publish a digital magazine that unlocks scientific research to inform the public discourse in multiple subjects with compelling, timely, and impartial knowledge

    More
  • grantee: Harvard University
    amount: $326,688
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2016

    To develop behaviorally informed versions of basic macroeconomic models

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Behavioral and Regulatory Effects on Decision-making (BRED)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Xavier Gabaix

    This grant funds the work of theoretical macroeconomist Xavier Gabaix, who is endeavoring to explain puzzling macroeconomic phenomena by importing into macroeconomic models insights gleaned from behavioral psychology. Contrary to the prevailing wisdom among macroeconomists, Gabaix’s work assumes human beings have limited attentional resources and must make choices about what to pay attention to and what to ignore. When attention is scarce, Gabaix argues, the pressing concerns of today crowd out consideration of distant tomorrows. This much microeconomists have known for some time. Gabaix’s contribution has been to show how this scarcity of attention and the consequent focus on the now can, in the aggregate, have predictable macroeconomic effects. Indeed, in early work Gabaix has used these assumptions to predict certain stubborn macroeconomic facts—like the absence of inflation in the U.S. despite years of low interest rates—that have vexed more traditional economic models. Funds from this grant provide three years of support to Gabaix to expand and continue this work. Supported activities include the testing and calibrating of Gabaix’s models against real-world data and the writing of a textbook that uses his framework to explain standard, well-understood macroeconomic phenomena.

    To develop behaviorally informed versions of basic macroeconomic models

    More
  • grantee: Urban Institute
    amount: $263,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2016

    To develop, document, and make freely available both linked mortgage datasets, as well as new tools for analyzing large collections of administrative data

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Economic Analysis of Science and Technology (EAST)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Alanna McCargo

    This grant funds a project led by Alanna McCargo and Laurie Goodman at the Urban Institute’s Housing Finance Policy Center, to create a relational research database that links mortgage data made available through the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act with geographic and other data from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS). The resulting dataset promises to provide economists and other researchers with a powerful new resource for investigating questions related to loan markets, geographic variations in housing prices, and consumer demand for credit. The Urban Institute team will design and implement a distributed, cloud-based architecture to house the database, and provide online computational access to the data through the Institute’s Spark Social Science computational platform. The team will also create and disseminate public guidelines and best practices for solving common problems with distributed, cloud-based data storage and the analysis of massive datasets.     In addition to the value of the dataset itself to researchers, the project will bolster the Urban Institute’s institutional expertise in addressing legal, security, privacy, and data acquisition and management issues related to large administrative datasets.

    To develop, document, and make freely available both linked mortgage datasets, as well as new tools for analyzing large collections of administrative data

    More
  • grantee: National Academy of Sciences
    amount: $301,470
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2016

    To conduct an independent management study of processes, portfolios, and programs at the National Academy of Sciences

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Economic Analysis of Science and Technology (EAST)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Marcia McNutt

    The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) was chartered by Abraham Lincoln “to give advice to the nation.” And, man, does it ever. Commissioned studies released during the first few days of September 2016 alone, for example, cover everything from clean electric power options to molybdenum-99 production, from eye health to eldercare. Funders and clients alike know the Academy’s work to be prestigious, authoritative, and impartial, but slow, inefficient, and expensive. Internal studies of NAS operations conducted sporadically over the years have resulted in only modest modifications. Now the incoming president, Marcia McNutt, wants to do more than that. A former editor of Science magazine and the first woman ever elected to lead the Academies, she is committed to comprehensive reform of how the NAS functions. Her first step is commissioning an outside management study by a distinguished but independent panel. The National Academy of Public Administration has agreed to carry out the project. Funds from this grant provide partial support for this independent management study.

    To conduct an independent management study of processes, portfolios, and programs at the National Academy of Sciences

    More
  • grantee: Stanford University
    amount: $1,807,297
    city: Stanford, CA
    year: 2016

    To develop services that model how access to administrative data can facilitate reliable, reproducible, and groundbreaking research in economics

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Mark Cullen

    Empirical economists tell tales of woe about the difficulties of accessing, processing, linking, and analyzing administrative data. Many have tried to address such impediments independently in the course of this or that research project. A piecemeal approach, however, is less effective than what might be accomplished by working together. This grant supports a project by a team of empirical economists and technologists at Stanford University to build and staff a new Stanford Data Core that will reduce social scientists’ struggles, and enhance their triumphs, with administrative data. Led by principal investigator Mark Cullen, the team has already gained access to over 230 administrative datasets, more than 100 server racks, and petabytes of data storage. The team will begin by harmonizing, documenting, cleaning, and adding to these datasets and then moving computations on them to the cloud in collaboration with Google. After the data have been pulled together, the team will test this new computational environment through the launch of four pilot research projects covering topics in economics from economic opportunity to contract labor markets. Though interesting in themselves, the projects will primarily serve as useful test cases to measure the functioning of the new computational environment. Finally, the project team is particularly keen on finding, sharing, and standardizing solutions to the legal challenges that encumber research on administrative data. Working with university lawyers at Stanford, the team will model what routine nondisclosure and data use agreements can and should look like. They will then promote this resource and these contracts to the wider scientific community.

    To develop services that model how access to administrative data can facilitate reliable, reproducible, and groundbreaking research in economics

    More
  • grantee: University of Maryland, College Park
    amount: $1,693,316
    city: College Park, MD
    year: 2016

    To demonstrate how to estimate standard economic indicators using administrative data about business transactions

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator John Haltiwanger

    The importance of macroeconomic statistics compiled by the government, such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the Consumer Price Index (CPI), is difficult to overstate. The data used to calculate these statistics are collected through surveys fielded by a host of differing government agencies, including the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and the Census Bureau. These surveys have significant and well-known methodological limitations leading to inaccuracies, substantial lag times, sampling distortions, and the need for (often significant) revisions. The worrying methodological basis of many economic statistics stands at odds with the increasingly high-quality data available about the economy. Vast improvements in the ability of retailers, for instance, to electronically track transactions provide a wealth of data for price and quantity measurement that is several orders of magnitude richer than currently captured in government surveys. This grant funds a pilot project by a team led by John Haltiwanger at the University of Maryland, College Park, to develop new, more accurate, and more timely methods to calculate portions of GDP and CPI using administrative data collected by retail firms. Partnering with several large retailers, the team will compile a large set of administrative data bearing on retail prices and quantities produced and sold, document how these data can be acquired and harvested, use the data to calculate portions of CPI and GDP, and then issue a report comparing and contrasting these calculations along several dimensions with current methodologies. Though it is too much to hope that such a project will, by itself, change the way government economic statistics are calculated, this project is an important proof of concept demonstrating one potential path to what all agree is badly needed reform.

    To demonstrate how to estimate standard economic indicators using administrative data about business transactions

    More
  • grantee: Georgetown University
    amount: $499,940
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2016

    To build community and consensus among Administrative Data Research Facilities by serving as a network hub and convener

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Robert Groves

    This grant funds a dozen conferences to be held over two years that are designed as community-building exercises for a new Administrative Data Research Network (ADRN). The ADRN is a linked network of Administrative Data Research Facilities, research centers devoted to facilitating the use of administrative data by researchers by lowering transaction costs and increasing the reproducibility of research conducted on administrative data. Conference topics will focus on common difficulties encountered when working with administrative datasets, including securing data access, privacy and anonymity, data ethics, documenting and versioning data, data use agreements, and archiving. Conference outreach will target not only researchers, but key officials in government and industry who have access to administrative data. If successful, these conferences will serve as important gatherings to build consensus around standards, priorities, and best practices in the growing community of researchers working with administrative data.

    To build community and consensus among Administrative Data Research Facilities by serving as a network hub and convener

    More
  • grantee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    amount: $2,998,325
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2016

    To continue core support for a research network that promotes the rigorous empirical study of economic issues in North America

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Amy Finkelstein

    Though considered by most economists to be the gold standard method for testing hypotheses, randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are nonetheless difficult to design, implement, or interpret in the field. That is why the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) was founded at MIT in 2003. J-PAL has been a staunch champion of RCT methods, providing funds and expert guidance in the design and implementation of RCTs. Initially focused on developmental economics, the J-PAL network expanded its focus to the U.S. with the 2013 launch of J-PAL North America. The goal of this new network is to promote rigorous study of economic issues in the United States and its neighbors, both by catalyzing high-quality research directly and by strengthening the capacity of institutions and individuals to conduct and understand such work. This grant provides three years of core operating support for J-PAL North America’s activities. Supported activities include salary support for core J-PAL staff, publication costs, training expenses, and development of workshops and toolkits for researchers wishing to field RCTs in North America.

    To continue core support for a research network that promotes the rigorous empirical study of economic issues in North America

    More
  • grantee: University of Michigan
    amount: $398,516
    city: Ann Arbor, MI
    year: 2016

    To facilitate data access by developing a broadly accepted system of researcher credentialing

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Margaret Levenstein

    Suppose you, as a researcher, have succeeded in wrangling important and sensitive data from a government or corporate source, data that is valuable to the research community. Because your data are sensitive, however, you want to share only with appropriately trained and responsible scholars who can be trusted to treat the data ethically. Suppose now a request comes in from someone who wants to study the data. What do you do? Not every researcher is savvy about the technical, privacy, or legal compliance issues related to sensitive administrative data. You could investigate the individual and draft an agreement for them to sign. But starting from scratch to answer each new request, with all the associated inefficiencies, is time consuming and costly. Wouldn’t it be much better if you could begin instead by asking your data seeker for some standard researcher certification, a kind of Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval that would indicate what kind of training and track record they have? This grant funds a project by Maggie Levenstein, executive director of the Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), to design, test, implement, and promote just such a researcher credentialing system for use by her own and other institutions holding sensitive administrative data. The widespread adoption of such a system could significantly decrease the transaction costs associated with access to administrative data, increase the analysis of important though sensitive datasets, and promote responsible training and research protocols concerning preregistration, anonymization, reproducibility, and other research practices.

    To facilitate data access by developing a broadly accepted system of researcher credentialing

    More
  • grantee: University of Pennsylvania
    amount: $264,237
    city: Philadelphia, PA
    year: 2016

    To hire, house, and manage the initial coordinator for a network of administrative data research facilitators

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Dennis Culhane

    One goal of the Foundation’s grantmaking in economics is to lower barriers that impede obtaining and using naturally occurring datasets for sound and reproducible research. One strategy is to identify, strengthen, and, in some cases, create intermediaries who can manage the relationships between data generators and academic researchers. We refer to such an intermediary as an Administrative Data Research Facility (ADRF). These facilities will, in turn, work more effectively if they can be linked together into a network that facilitates the sharing of standards, best practices, and data among ADRFs. Such networks, however, require a dedicated coordinator to ensure their proper functioning. This grant to the University of Pennsylvania provides two years of (partial) salary support for a network coordinator devoted to servicing the growing needs of the ADRF community. Although this network organizer will work with various ADRFs, he or she will be initially hosted by the University of Pennsylvania’s Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy (AISP) project, headed by Dennis Culhane. AISP has emerged as a leader in developing practical procedures and protocols for conducting research that uses administrative data and is thus well positioned within the community to successfully host this important position.

    To hire, house, and manage the initial coordinator for a network of administrative data research facilitators

    More
  • grantee: Stanford University
    amount: $591,295
    city: Stanford, CA
    year: 2016

    To make research on macro-financial modeling more reproducible, collaborative, and comparative

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Financial and Institutional Modeling in Macroeconomics (FIMM)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator John Taylor

    Better management of the economy requires better macroeconomic models that can be used to predict the consequences of this or that economic policy choice, proposal, or regime. Better economic models, in turn, require the ability to compare, contrast, and evaluate the predictions of various models across a variety of scenarios. How do professional economists, financial regulators, and central bankers compare one macroeconomic model to another? As it turns out, they don’t. Not only are there no widely accepted ways to compare models, there is little agreement about what criteria make one model better than another. Enter economist Volker Wieland, who is approaching this problem head-on. Collaborating with a wide network of economists in Europe and the U.S., Wieland has developed what he calls the Macro Model Database (MMD), a software platform that can upload, store, and run different macroeconomic models, allowing researchers to confront models with the same historical or synthetic scenarios and compare the predictions subsequently produced. Funds from this grant support a project to make the Macro Model Database fully open source, documenting and disseminating the underlying code to any expert interested in using it. By making it easier for researchers to upload and explore models, Wieland and his team (including Stanford economist John Taylor) plan to double the number of models available on its platform. Additional grant funds support the establishment of a research network based at the Center for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) in London to further promote the MMD’s use within the research community.

    To make research on macro-financial modeling more reproducible, collaborative, and comparative

    More
  • grantee: RAND Corporation
    amount: $399,958
    city: Santa Monica, CA
    year: 2016

    To find out how labor force participation at older ages has increased even as some determinants of participation have worsened, and whether the trend towards working at older ages is likely to continue in the future, especially in view of adverse trends in health

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Susann Rohwedder

    The ability to accurately predict the U.S. labor force participation rate among older workers is important, not least because it bears significantly on the finances of the Social Security system. Traditional methods for predicting this crucial statistic involve extrapolating from past trends. Past trends, however, may not continue. Over the past 25 years, for instance, the labor force participation rate of the population aged 60 to 69 has been increasing, in part because Americans in their 60s were getting progressively healthier. But recent studies suggest this is no longer the case. What effects, if any, will the halting of this trend toward better health in older Americans have on labor force participation rates? This grant funds the work of researchers Susann Rohwedder and Michael Hurd, who are examining this issue. Using twelve waves of data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), Rohwedder and Hurd will study how labor force participation at older ages has increased even as some determinants of participation have worsened and examine whether the trend toward working at older ages is likely to continue, especially in view of adverse trends in health. One particular focus of their work will be the relationship between labor force participation rates and individuals’ forecasts about how long they will continue to work as they age, examining how predictive these forecasts have been in the past and how their predictive power varies along multiple dimensions. Once this relationship is better understood, the hope is to use this knowledge to inform forecasts of labor force participation rates going forward.

    To find out how labor force participation at older ages has increased even as some determinants of participation have worsened, and whether the trend towards working at older ages is likely to continue in the future, especially in view of adverse trends in health

    More
  • grantee: Urban Institute
    amount: $204,951
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2016

    To identify policy reforms that could reduce work disincentives at older ages and more equitably and efficiently provide retirement benefits to older adults

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Richard Johnson

    This grant supports the planning of a project led by Richard Johnson and Eugene Steuerle of the Urban Institute to identify, simulate, and evaluate policy reforms that, taken alone, as well as simultaneously, would reduce work disincentives at older ages and more equitably and efficiently provide retirement benefits to older adults. In so doing, this larger project would provide important new information about the likely costs and benefits of reforming Social Security, Medicare, employer-sponsored retirement plans, and tax incentives for retirement saving. The larger project will use DYNASIM, the Urban Institute’s dynamic microsimulation model, to simulate the likely impact of potential retirement program reforms across a vast array of dimensions, including effects on employment at older ages; on older adults’ household wealth; on annual income; on lifetime Social Security benefits; on income tax payments; and on out-of-pocket spending on medical care. The team will also model the effects of hypothetical reforms on government revenues and outlays. The planning activities funded by this grant will lay the groundwork for the larger project by implementing necessary enhancements to DYNASIM, specifying criteria for evaluating policy reforms, and making the case for the need to reform retirement programs to eliminate work disincentives.

    To identify policy reforms that could reduce work disincentives at older ages and more equitably and efficiently provide retirement benefits to older adults

    More
  • grantee: Tribeca Film Institute
    amount: $216,320
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2016

    To support the Sloan Student Grand Jury Prize for the annual selection and development of the best-of-the-best screenplay from Sloan’s six film school partners

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Anna Ponder

    Funds from this grant to the Tribeca Film Institute (TFI) support two years of the Sloan Student Grand Jury Prize, an annual prize awarded to the single best science-themed student screenplay produced by a student at one of the Foundation’s six film school partners. The award package is $50,000 per year, of which $30,000 goes directly to the student filmmaker. The balance of the award funds support a noted industry mentor to guide the project, a committed science advisor, and other marketing and distribution efforts to maximize the screenplay’s chances of production. The aim of this effort is to stimulate greater interest and excitement among the six participating film schools and film students by awarding a “best of the best” prize and fast-tracking the winning project for development so it becomes a major career opportunity. The Student Grand Jury Prize offers enhanced visibility, prestige, and a career boost to the student winner working on a science-themed script and fosters healthy competition within the film school program.

    To support the Sloan Student Grand Jury Prize for the annual selection and development of the best-of-the-best screenplay from Sloan’s six film school partners

    More
  • grantee: New York University
    amount: $484,596
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2016

    For an annual feature film production grant over three years to enable film students to shoot a first feature film about science and technology

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Michael Burke

    This grant supports an initiative at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts (NYU Tisch) to incentivize the creation of feature films about science and technology through an annual award of $100,000 given to help an outstanding science-themed student film project move to production. Each year a distinguished committee of filmmakers and scientists from NYU’s Kanbar Institute of Film and Television will publicize the award among students and accept and evaluate film treatments. Filmmakers selected as semifinalists receive a $5,000 award to produce their script and are connected with an expert scholar to serve as a mentor and to ensure the accuracy of the scientific work and characters presented. The winning filmmaker from among the semifinalists will receive $100,000 to be used to move the script into production. Scripts are eligible only if they explore scientific or technological themes or employ scientists, mathematicians, or engineers as major characters. In addition, NYU holds an annual reception for the winner and engages in media outreach to publicize the awards. Grant funds provide core operating support for this awards program for three years.

    For an annual feature film production grant over three years to enable film students to shoot a first feature film about science and technology

    More
  • grantee: American Academy of Arts and Sciences
    amount: $150,000
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2016

    To support a two-year study and accompanying workshop on better understanding public attitudes toward science

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program New Media
    • Investigator John Randell

    This grant funds a two-year study by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS) to help improve our understanding of public attitudes to science—especially how people encounter science in everyday life—and to suggest ways to improve outreach, particularly to underserved communities. This effort is part of a three-year Academy initiative, The Public Face of Science, to address various elements of the relationship between scientists and the public. The AAAS team will first compile data on public engagement with science, broadly defined to include watching film, theater, and other storytelling media with science and technology themes, as well as attendance at zoos, aquaria, and science museums, and use of the internet and social media to access scientific content. After conducting and publishing the baseline study, the AAAS will commission six papers from leading researchers to identify gaps in the existing data and ways to address them, with an emphasis on reaching underserved communities. These six papers will be presented and discussed at an Academy workshop in 2017, which will then generate a final report with recommendations for addressing gaps.

    To support a two-year study and accompanying workshop on better understanding public attitudes toward science

    More
  • grantee: New York Public Radio
    amount: $400,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2016

    For production and enhanced distribution of Radiolab, an innovative and popular science-themed radio show, via multiple platforms

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Radio
    • Investigator Jad Abumrad

    This grant provides continuing operational support for the successful science radio show and podcast Radiolab. Expected outputs include 21 science-themed podcasts per year plus one hour-long broadcast per week (distilled from original and archival podcasts). The Radiolab production team will also continue to produce live events to supplement their online content, with eight communication events or lectures planned each year and two annual live events. Grant funds will provide core operating support for Radiolab for two years.

    For production and enhanced distribution of Radiolab, an innovative and popular science-themed radio show, via multiple platforms

    More
  • grantee: Stanford University
    amount: $600,000
    city: Stanford, CA
    year: 2016

    To develop and apply a framework that classifies, assesses, and compares the explicit and implicit subsidies provided for different energy sources

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Frank Wolak

    Federal and state governments provide a wide array of direct and indirect subsidies to many energy supply technologies. Since these subsidies affect the economic competitiveness of different energy sources, it is important to develop objective and accurate estimates of their magnitude. Funds from this grant support work by Frank Wolak, a senior energy economist at Stanford, to develop a standardized schema for the categorization of different forms of government subsidy. Wolak will then collaborate with other leading energy economists to apply this framework and undertake a series of technology-specific analyses that will quantify the extent of subsidies provided to various energy sources, such as coal, natural gas, oil, wind, solar, and nuclear. All participating researchers will then convene at a workshop to review and compare each of these analyses and suggest areas of improvement. Finally, Wolak will develop a general equilibrium model that extends the results of these source-specific subsidy analyses and accounts for interactions between subsidies for different energy sources. He will consider, for example, how changes in the subsidies provided for wind power impact subsidies provided for other energy sources, such as oil or gas. This general equilibrium methodology will be the subject of a second review workshop, and the whole project will culminate in a series of final conferences that will lay out the ultimate findings for researchers and policymakers.

    To develop and apply a framework that classifies, assesses, and compares the explicit and implicit subsidies provided for different energy sources

    More
  • grantee: University of Texas, Austin
    amount: $300,000
    city: Austin, TX
    year: 2016

    To curate, merge, anonymize, and examine residential smart meter data in the competitive electricity market areas of Texas

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Michael Webber

    The answers to a host of pressing questions in energy policy, such as how best to help consumers use electricity more efficiently or where to site new electricity distribution infrastructure, depend crucially on a nuanced understanding of how consumers use electricity and how that demand differs from household to household. New opportunities to study differences in household electricity consumption have arisen in recent years thanks to the increasingly widespread installation of smart electricity meters that track household energy use at finely grained intervals, in some cases measuring energy consumption as frequently as every 15 minutes. Partnering with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), Michael Webber, deputy director of the Energy Institute at the University of Texas, Austin, plans to explore household electricity usage patterns by integrating ERCOT’s 15?minute residential smart meter data with other relevant data sets, such as local tax records, demographic statistics, meteorological data, and locational marginal pricing information. Webber has identified a set of initial hypotheses to be tested through an examination of the integrated data set, including how energy use varies with income, time of day across different locations in Texas, and the introduction of demand response programs. Funds from this grant will help Webber and his team take in the over 45 terabytes of ERCOT smart meter data, suitably anonymize the data set, merge it with additional information sources, and disseminate it for use by other researchers.

    To curate, merge, anonymize, and examine residential smart meter data in the competitive electricity market areas of Texas

    More
  • grantee: Columbia University
    amount: $350,226
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2016

    To improve the training of energy journalists through an introduction to high quality research in energy economics, geopolitics, and innovation

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Jason Bordoff

    This grant funds an annual three-day seminar, hosted by Columbia University’s Center on Global and Energy Policy (CGEP), that aims to train and inform journalists tasked with covering multifaceted developments in energy economics, energy markets, energy geopolitics, and energy innovation. Using active discussion and interactive modules, the seminars will introduce participating journalists to emerging research findings on a broad number of complex topics, including oil price volatility, solar energy, and shale gas development, presented by leading experts from academia, industry, and government. Approximately 15 journalists will be selected to participate each year through a competitive application process and selected participants will be asked to commit to producing a substantial number of articles that reflect the training program’s focus on providing a multidisciplinary view of key energy issues.

    To improve the training of energy journalists through an introduction to high quality research in energy economics, geopolitics, and innovation

    More
  • grantee: Resources for the Future, Inc.
    amount: $450,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2016

    To conduct research on the economics of transportation by studying consumer demand for new vehicle technologies and alternative fuel vehicles

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Joshua Linn

    Transportation accounts for a large fraction of both U.S. petroleum consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, and continues to be an important contributor to local concentrations of nitrogen oxide and ozone. This grant funds a project by Resources for the Future (RFF) that will examine and assess consumer demand for low-carbon vehicles, be they electric cars or nonelectric cars with high fuel economy ratings. Partnering with Maritz CX Research, a private market research firm with detailed information on individual consumer purchasing decisions of new vehicles and their attributes, the RFF team will analyze more than five years of records related to how consumers make decisions about vehicle purchases, totaling nearly one million observations of car purchasing decisions. While this remains a small fraction of total domestic car purchases over that time period, the data set is larger and of higher quality than any publicly available data source that has been explored in the transportation economics literature to date. RFF will examine this rich data set by exploring how consumers value low-carbon vehicle attributes, consumer demand for innovations in the electric vehicle market, and the interactions between fuel prices and greenhouse gas mitigation standards that have been set for the transportation sector.

    To conduct research on the economics of transportation by studying consumer demand for new vehicle technologies and alternative fuel vehicles

    More
  • grantee: University of Colorado, Boulder
    amount: $750,000
    city: Boulder, CO
    year: 2016

    To expand understanding of chemical sources, sinks, and transformations taking place indoors

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Chemistry of Indoor Environments
    • Investigator Paul Ziemann

    Funds from this grant support work by atmospheric chemist Paul Ziemann to expand our understanding of chemical sources, sinks, and transformations of indoor environments, and to develop physical-chemical mechanisms to describe these processes. Ziemann will conduct a series of pilot studies to examine a range of indoor environments. His studies will aim to (1) identify similarities and differences in the organic chemical composition of indoor gases, particles, and surfaces; (2) determine organic chemical contributions from various sources; (3) determine the effects of organic gases, oxidants, acids, humidity, light, and temperature on gas, particle, and surface composition; (4) determine potential effects of organic compounds emitted by humans, either directly or as a result of reactions; and (5) develop physical-chemical mechanisms to explain observed compositions and processes. The range of indoor environments to be tested includes an art museum, classrooms, offices, a student athletic center, student dining facilities, and local residences. This project will provide new insights into the physical and chemical processes that determine the composition of indoor air and allow for development of a deeper understanding of how different indoor environments function. The results also promise to be valuable for developing models for predicting the chemical composition of indoor air and strategies for improving indoor air quality. The results will be shared through peer-reviewed publications and presentations at conferences and meetings. At least two students and one postdoctoral fellow will be trained.

    To expand understanding of chemical sources, sinks, and transformations taking place indoors

    More
  • grantee: American Educational Research Association
    amount: $5,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2016

    To support the American Educational Research Association’s Brown Lecture

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Felice Levine

    To support the American Educational Research Association’s Brown Lecture

    More
  • grantee: Brave New Software
    amount: $124,770
    city: Los Angeles, CA
    year: 2016

    To improve the discovery, assessment of value, and impact of open source software

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Benjamin Nickolls

    To improve the discovery, assessment of value, and impact of open source software

    More
  • grantee: The New School for Social Research
    amount: $34,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2016

    To support a two-day conference titled “Invisibility: The Power of an Idea,” at The New School in New York City

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program New Media
    • Investigator Arien Mack

    To support a two-day conference titled “Invisibility: The Power of an Idea,” at The New School in New York City

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Berkeley
    amount: $101,821
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2016

    To develop and test instruments that document increases in understanding of science concepts and scientific practices in undergraduate research experiences

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Anne Baranger

    To develop and test instruments that document increases in understanding of science concepts and scientific practices in undergraduate research experiences

    More
  • grantee: Columbia University
    amount: $50,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2016

    To provide continuing support for the Center on Global Energy Policy’s external speaker series and roundtable discussions to inform dialogue about critical energy issues

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Jason Bordoff

    To provide continuing support for the Center on Global Energy Policy’s external speaker series and roundtable discussions to inform dialogue about critical energy issues

    More
  • grantee: University of Michigan
    amount: $120,000
    city: Ann Arbor, MI
    year: 2016

    To examine "Abundance, Aerosolization, and Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment of Opportunistic Bacterial Pathogens in the Built Environment"

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Yun Shen

    To examine "Abundance, Aerosolization, and Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment of Opportunistic Bacterial Pathogens in the Built Environment"

    More
  • grantee: Environmental Law Institute
    amount: $20,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2016

    To organize a workshop that will help increase understanding of the energy and environmental implications of the sharing and digital economy

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator David Rejeski

    To organize a workshop that will help increase understanding of the energy and environmental implications of the sharing and digital economy

    More
  • grantee: University of Michigan
    amount: $125,000
    city: Ann Arbor, MI
    year: 2016

    To identify the five most important reactions governing deep carbon and use these to synthesize and lift understanding of deep carbon

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Jie Li

    To identify the five most important reactions governing deep carbon and use these to synthesize and lift understanding of deep carbon

    More
  • grantee: Yale University
    amount: $69,975
    city: New Haven, CT
    year: 2016

    To support a MoBE workshop in Singapore to foster relationships with MoBE researchers in East Asia

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Jordan Peccia

    To support a MoBE workshop in Singapore to foster relationships with MoBE researchers in East Asia

    More
  • grantee: Stanford University
    amount: $14,500
    city: Stanford, CA
    year: 2016

    To include the current and former NBER pre- and post-doc Aging Fellows in the group of participants at the October 6th and 7th, 2016 Working Longer Conference held at SIEPR

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator John Shoven

    To include the current and former NBER pre- and post-doc Aging Fellows in the group of participants at the October 6th and 7th, 2016 Working Longer Conference held at SIEPR

    More
  • grantee: Ohio State University
    amount: $19,987
    city: Columbus, OH
    year: 2016

    To support the Microbiology of the Built Environment Symposium at the National Council for Science and the Environment 2017 Conference and Global Forum

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Karen Dannemiller

    To support the Microbiology of the Built Environment Symposium at the National Council for Science and the Environment 2017 Conference and Global Forum

    More
  • grantee: Stanford University
    amount: $20,000
    city: Stanford, CA
    year: 2016

    To support participation of students and post-doctoral researchers at the 2016 Behavior, Energy and Climate Change Conference and to organize a strategic planning workshop at the conference to determine potential future pathways

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator James Sweeney

    To support participation of students and post-doctoral researchers at the 2016 Behavior, Energy and Climate Change Conference and to organize a strategic planning workshop at the conference to determine potential future pathways

    More
  • grantee: American Indian Science and Engineering Society
    amount: $10,000
    city: Albuquerque, NM
    year: 2016

    To provide partial support for the Undergraduate Research Competition at the 2016 AISES National Conference

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Kathy DeerInWater

    To provide partial support for the Undergraduate Research Competition at the 2016 AISES National Conference

    More
  • grantee: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
    amount: $16,275
    city: Troy, NY
    year: 2016

    To partially sponsor the public activities of the 2016 International Data Week

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Mark Parsons

    To partially sponsor the public activities of the 2016 International Data Week

    More
  • grantee: University of Illinois
    amount: $20,000
    city: Urbana, IL
    year: 2016

    To partially fund the 2016 Working towards Sustainable Software for Science: Practice and Experiences meeting

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Daniel Katz

    To partially fund the 2016 Working towards Sustainable Software for Science: Practice and Experiences meeting

    More
  • grantee: Princeton University
    amount: $20,000
    city: Princeton, NJ
    year: 2016

    To develop and test open source software to enable an open review process for academic books

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Matthew Salganik

    To develop and test open source software to enable an open review process for academic books

    More
  • grantee: American Society for Engineering Education
    amount: $50,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2016

    To convene a planning meeting and small conference catalyzing activities within the Engineering Transitions to Inclusive and Diverse Environments (E-TIDE) Alliance

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Norman Fortenberry

    To convene a planning meeting and small conference catalyzing activities within the Engineering Transitions to Inclusive and Diverse Environments (E-TIDE) Alliance

    More
  • grantee: Colorado State University Foundation
    amount: $54,044
    city: Fort Collins, CO
    year: 2016

    To support an indoor chemistry data needs workshop

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Chemistry of Indoor Environments
    • Investigator Delphine Farmer

    To support an indoor chemistry data needs workshop

    More
  • grantee: Johns Hopkins University
    amount: $10,000
    city: Baltimore, MD
    year: 2016

    To partially support the 2016 IEEE eScience Conference

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Alexander Szalay

    To partially support the 2016 IEEE eScience Conference

    More
  • grantee: University Corporation for Atmospheric Research
    amount: $20,000
    city: Boulder, CO
    year: 2016

    To support a workshop and related activities on the rescue of at-risk data

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Matthew Mayernik

    To support a workshop and related activities on the rescue of at-risk data

    More
  • grantee: University of Pennsylvania
    amount: $15,000
    city: Philadelphia, PA
    year: 2016

    To support a conference on the use of administrative data in social science research

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Dennis Culhane

    To support a conference on the use of administrative data in social science research

    More
  • grantee: National Academy of Sciences
    amount: $110,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2016

    To provide partial support for a study to gather, analyze, and disseminate the evidence on the most promising retention and completion strategies and practices at US minority-serving institutions (MSIs)

    • Program Higher Education
    • Initiative Professional Advancement of Underrepresented Groups
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Thomas Rudin

    To provide partial support for a study to gather, analyze, and disseminate the evidence on the most promising retention and completion strategies and practices at US minority-serving institutions (MSIs)

    More
  • grantee: DataKind
    amount: $100,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2016

    To pilot continued sustainability models for novel machine learning and analytical solutions to reduce pedestrian deaths in New York City and other US cities

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Julia Rhodes Davis

    To pilot continued sustainability models for novel machine learning and analytical solutions to reduce pedestrian deaths in New York City and other US cities

    More
  • grantee: Women Make Movies, Inc.
    amount: $125,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2016

    To explore the new medium of Virtual Reality with a short film allowing viewers  to experience the workings of the LIGO gravitational wave detector, and to grasp the science behind this breakthrough discovery

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program New Media
    • Investigator Debra Zimmerman

    To explore the new medium of Virtual Reality with a short film allowing viewers  to experience the workings of the LIGO gravitational wave detector, and to grasp the science behind this breakthrough discovery

    More
  • grantee: Resources for the Future, Inc.
    amount: $59,983
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2016

    To assess changes in local public finance issues in key shale gas and oil producing regions

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Richard Newell

    To assess changes in local public finance issues in key shale gas and oil producing regions

    More
  • grantee: Harvard University
    amount: $20,000
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2016

    To support the Second Annual Conference on Big Data at the Harvard Center for Mathematical Sciences and Applications

    • Program Science
    • Investigator Shing-Tung Yau

    To support the Second Annual Conference on Big Data at the Harvard Center for Mathematical Sciences and Applications

    More
  • grantee: NYC Arts in Education Roundtable
    amount: $5,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2016

    For a professional development event for educators that will explore how improvisation affects the brain

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Theater
    • Investigator Jennifer Clarke

    For a professional development event for educators that will explore how improvisation affects the brain

    More
  • grantee: Center for Strategic and International Studies
    amount: $20,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2016

    To support the Energy Futures Forum in identifying and elaborating on medium-term issues in the energy sector

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Sarah Ladislaw

    To support the Energy Futures Forum in identifying and elaborating on medium-term issues in the energy sector

    More
  • grantee: The University of Chicago
    amount: $55,000
    city: Chicago, IL
    year: 2016

    To convene academic economists and power system engineers from distribution utilities to identify critical research questions and opportunities for collaboration

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Steven Cicala

    To convene academic economists and power system engineers from distribution utilities to identify critical research questions and opportunities for collaboration

    More
  • grantee: Missouri University of Science and Technology
    amount: $55,553
    city: Rolla, MO
    year: 2016

    To support an indoor chemistry modeling workshop

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Chemistry of Indoor Environments
    • Investigator Joel Burken

    To support an indoor chemistry modeling workshop

    More
  • grantee: Women Make Movies, Inc.
    amount: $47,770
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2016

    To support a pilot project to track what happened to scripts that won Sloan awards, to track the careers of Sloan award winners, and to track the careers of students in the Sloan programs who sought awards, but did not receive them

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Barbara Ghammashi

    To support a pilot project to track what happened to scripts that won Sloan awards, to track the careers of Sloan award winners, and to track the careers of students in the Sloan programs who sought awards, but did not receive them

    More
  • grantee: The Aspen Institute
    amount: $500,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2016

    To support a dialogue process that applies research findings to inform the development of best practices for the governance of shale gas and oil

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator David Monsma

    This grant funds the Aspen Institute to host a three-year dialogue series, The Aspen Series on Energy Governance, which will synthesize the disparate strands of research that Sloan and other funders have supported in recent years on hydraulic fracturing and shale oil and gas development. The series will consist of three annual forums and two smaller-scale dialogue series that will bring together scholars and practitioners from different fields to develop a set of guidelines and recommendations related to how to oversee shale oil and gas production at the local, state, and federal levels. Discussion papers will be prepared to inform each of the meetings in the series, and a rapporteur will produce a report to summarize the collective results. The Aspen Institute will also develop a web resource that will include materials created for each session in the series and that will serve as a one-stop-shop for all of the publicly available research that the Sloan and Mitchell Foundations have supported on shale gas and oil development. Findings from the discussion series will be presented at public panels and workshops, both in Washington, D.C. and in regions where shale gas and oil development has taken place.

    To support a dialogue process that applies research findings to inform the development of best practices for the governance of shale gas and oil

    More
  • grantee: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    amount: $249,550
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2016

    To conduct a randomized controlled trial to study how people respond to and value information about their driving habits

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Christopher Knittel

    This grant supports energy economist Christopher Knittel in his plans to implement a randomized controlled trial to study how individuals respond to information about their driving habits and how the provision of such information affects energy use and automobile fuel economy. In partnership with a company named Automatic, which manufactures and installs driving activity monitoring devices and provides that information to drivers, Knittel will examine how individual driving behavior is influenced by different kinds of information, packaged in a variety of ways. Automatic’s devices can detect and alert drivers during hard accelerations, hard braking, and speeds over 70 miles per hour. Knittel will study how different ways of presenting these data differentially affect driving behavior. Treatment groups will receive weekly aggregated summaries and comparisons of their driving habits to other drivers. In addition, Knittel will study how sustained exposure to these alerts (at either three or six months) changes driving habits. Though Automatic’s sensors will be installed free of charge to participants, individuals will be given the opportunity to purchase the devices, at different prices, at the study’s conclusion, allowing Knittel to estimate participants’ willingness to pay for this information. The transportation sector is the second largest energy consumer in the United States and accounts for over a quarter of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. This innovative RCT will help us understand better what interventions might lead consumers to change their driving habits in ways that reduce those emissions.

    To conduct a randomized controlled trial to study how people respond to and value information about their driving habits

    More
  • grantee: Indiana University
    amount: $259,900
    city: Bloomington, IN
    year: 2016

    To conduct public perception surveys and public finance research on the siting of energy infrastructure

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator David Konisky

    There are few, if any, reputable studies examining the public perception and public finance dimensions associated with the siting of energy infrastructure, which includes projects such as transmission lines, oil and natural gas pipelines, natural gas export terminals, large-scale wind and solar facilities, and  other large power plants. The studies that have been conducted have tended to focus on a single energy infrastructure project instead of looking across multiple projects simultaneously and have asked about hypothetical energy infrastructure developments instead of real-world examples. This grant funds a team led by David Konisky at Indiana University to conduct highly localized public opinion surveys related to 15 energy infrastructure projects that are currently in the planning stages across seven populous states. In addition to surveying local residents, the team will field complementary national surveys that will examine how public perceptions differ across infrastructure types. Finally, the team will develop a series of local public finance case studies laying out the likely economic impacts of a subset of these infrastructure projects, drawing on information from permit applications, siting and development plans, evidence from public hearings, and interviews with local officials and other stakeholders. All of the survey data, codebooks, and finance analysis will be publicly released at the end of the project, with the material to be archived at Harvard’s Dataverse.

    To conduct public perception surveys and public finance research on the siting of energy infrastructure

    More
  • grantee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    amount: $1,000,000
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2016

    To conduct an assessment of the opportunities and challenges associated with the future of next generation nuclear energy technologies

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Jacopo Buongiorno

    Though most of the 99 operating nuclear reactors in the United States are likely to be retired by 2050, only four new nuclear plants are currently under construction. Since nuclear accounts for 20 percent of all U.S. electricity generation, significant new investment in nuclear generating technology is needed if the United States and the world are to keep a key source of no-carbon power generation. Doing so will require addressing cost, safety, waste, and proliferation concerns and a keen assessment of new reactor designs, technology development needs, new business models, and regulatory barriers.   This grant provides partial support to MIT to examine the potential of alternative nuclear generation technologies from cost, safety, reliability, waste, and proliferation perspectives. The study will also examine the associated research and development needs, regulatory reforms, and industrial support infrastructure needed to commercialize these new technologies. A faculty committee of top researchers from multiple disciplines has been assembled for the study, including Jacopo Buongiorno, Dennis Whyte, and Richard Lester of MIT and Michael Corradini of the University of Wisconsin, Madison. David Petti, of Idaho National Laboratory, will oversee the operational and management dimensions of the study as its executive director. An expert advisory board comprised of senior scholars and practitioners in the field will provide regular oversight of the overall project. The study is a crucial and necessary step in evaluating what role nuclear should play in the future of U.S. electricity generation.

    To conduct an assessment of the opportunities and challenges associated with the future of next generation nuclear energy technologies

    More
  • grantee: American Astronomical Society
    amount: $448,500
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2016

    To advance the discovery, tracking, and preservation of scientific software by improving software citation practices

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Julie Steffen

    Recent technological advances have made it possible to assign Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) to software projects, allowing authors to cite them in just the same way they have traditionally cited a journal article or study. Yet we have not seen much movement toward the actual citation of software by authors—a problem, since citation remains the primary way to acknowledge valuable work among scientists. The problem appears to be cultural, not technical, and it thus makes sense to focus on change at a disciplinary level. Astronomy presents an ideal opportunity to model a best-practice approach to software citation in the sciences. This grant funds an effort by the American Astronomical Society (AAS) to develop and implement a new "software broker" system that would automate the creation and management of metadata about software versions, licensing, and authorship. The move would prompt software developers to fully document their code in structured ways that could easily be imported into discovery tools like the Astronomical Data Service (ADS), which tracks citations across formal and preprint articles and serves as a search interface across the astronomy literature. Though developed within astronomy, most of the systems and workflows to be developed are generic and applicable much more broadly.

    To advance the discovery, tracking, and preservation of scientific software by improving software citation practices

    More
  • grantee: University of Colorado, Boulder
    amount: $516,490
    city: Boulder, CO
    year: 2016

    To conduct a longitudinal analysis of the microbiomes of dormitories and their inhabitants at the US Air Force Academy (USAFA)

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Christopher Lowry

    This grant provides partial support for a longitudinal study of the microbiomes of dormitories and their inhabitants at the U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA). Over the course of nine weeks, a University of Colorado research team led by principal investigator Christopher Lowry and Lt. Col. Andrew Hoisington will sample indoor and outdoor surfaces at USAFA dormitories, characterize environmental conditions, and take skin and stool samples from a cohort of 48 U.S. Air Force cadets. Samples will then be analyzed to determine the degree to which the dorm room locations of cadets and their interactions with each other influence the microbial profiles of the cadets and their dorm rooms. The uniformity of the dorm room construction and the unique standardization in diet, lifestyle, and age among cadets makes them a particularly attractive target for study that will maximize researchers’ ability to detect confounding factors that impact host-derived microbial colonization of the dormitories. The team plans to share its findings through conference presentations, open access peer-reviewed publications, social media, and websites. The team also plans a symposium to share findings and discuss how current and future research directions in human and built environment microbiomes might advance the aims of the Department of Defense.

    To conduct a longitudinal analysis of the microbiomes of dormitories and their inhabitants at the US Air Force Academy (USAFA)

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Berkeley
    amount: $748,629
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2016

    To expand understanding of the microbial ecology of the built environment

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Thomas Bruns

    This grant supports two additional years of research by a team at the Berkeley Indoor Microbial Research Consortium, which aims to expand our understanding of the microbial ecology of the built environment as mediated by interactions among organisms, particulate matter, and volatile and nonvolatile chemicals. Under the direction of principal investigator (PI) Thomas Bruns, professor of plant and microbial ecology at the University of California, Berkeley, the proposed work plan is organized around four objectives: Build an integrated understanding of the role of occupancy and occupant behaviors on bioaerosols and microbially derived chemical emissions in residential environments. The biological measurements will be made in collaboration with the Berkeley Chemistry of Indoor Environments (CIE) team (see Berkeley CIE proposal) as part of the intensive field campaign taking place in one-to-two residences. Characterize the chemistry of biological interactions among microorganisms on residential indoor surfaces, incorporating both mVOC measurements and the study of nonvolatile chemical compounds, as measured through nanospray desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (NanoDESI MS). Determine the metabolic state and activity of indoor microbes. Develop improved methods for sampling and assaying microbial communities in built environments. Research findings will be shared through peer-reviewed publications, presentations at conferences and meetings, and through blogs on microBE.net. At least three postdoctoral fellows will be trained in the course of the project.

    To expand understanding of the microbial ecology of the built environment

    More
  • grantee: Brookings Institution
    amount: $400,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2016

    To measure how employers’ benefit costs change with age of employees

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Gary Burtless

    Funds from this grant support work by Gary Burtless to measure how employers’ benefit costs vary with age of employees. Burtless will use data from nationally representative microcensus files to obtain reliable estimates of the costs facing employers who hire or retain older workers rather than equally qualified younger workers who are paid the same wage. Cost differences to be examined include health insurance coverage for workers at different ages; compensation for scheduled and unscheduled leave, in particular for sickness; costs associated with the possibility that an older worker’s career will end sooner than that of an equally qualified younger worker; and retirement benefit costs, particularly under defined-benefit plans. Once calculated, these costs will be evaluated against a series of alternate policies that could reduce differences between older and younger workers.

    To measure how employers’ benefit costs change with age of employees

    More
  • grantee: Columbia University
    amount: $449,944
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2016

    To build on the momentum of the previous Age Smart Employer Awards to raise awareness of employers about the value of an age-diverse workforce and effective strategies to recruit, engage, and retain older workers

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Ruth Finkelstein

    This grant supports a third year of the Age Smart Employer Awards, an annual awards program that honors innovative New York City employers who have adopted effective strategies to recruit, engage, and retain older workers. Emerging research shows that older workers offer distinct advantages to employers. As a group, they are viewed by managers and human resource professionals as motivated, reliable, loyal, and superior in interpersonal communication skills compared to younger workers. Additional research suggests that workforces that are heterogeneous in terms of age are more creative than homogeneous ones. Additionally, because older workers mirror aging consumers, they relate to customers in a growing “silver economy.”  Yet, these advantages are often discounted or offset by employers’ concerns about the costs of employing older workers. The Age Smart Employer Awards aim to combat these concerns by honoring those employers who are successfully facilitating age-diverse workforces. Grant funds will support the administration of a third year of the awards; outreach and publicity efforts; the development of a new tool to help employers understand, identify, and articulate Age Smart practices and policies; expansion of the awards to three new localities; and efforts to expand the Awards’ institutional partners.

    To build on the momentum of the previous Age Smart Employer Awards to raise awareness of employers about the value of an age-diverse workforce and effective strategies to recruit, engage, and retain older workers

    More
  • grantee: North Carolina State University
    amount: $539,767
    city: Raleigh, NC
    year: 2016

    To provide a comprehensive analysis of public employees’ transition between career employment and full retirement

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Robert Clark

    Though public sector workers make up 15 percent of the U.S. workforce, little is known about how public sector workers make retirement-related choices and transition from full-time employment to full retirement. Funds from this grant support research by North Carolina State University (NCSU) economist Robert Clark to address this knowledge gap. Using original panel survey data and extensive administrative data from the North Carolina Retirement System, Clark and his research team will examine several important issues, including how older public workers in North Carolina plan for work-to-retirement transitions; how they execute plans to leave career jobs; how they move into new types of employment; and how they ensure income security in complete retirement. In addition to producing research addressing these issues, the grant will also result in a longitudinal panel dataset that, upon application, will be available to scholars interested in the public sector workforce.

    To provide a comprehensive analysis of public employees’ transition between career employment and full retirement

    More
  • grantee: New York Public Radio
    amount: $400,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2016

    To support health care reporting at WNYC with a focus on the economics and policy of our healthcare system and the impact of the Affordable Care Act on consumers in New York

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Radio
    • Investigator Jim Schachter

    This grant continues support for efforts by the WNYC Health Unit to produce high-quality radio reporting on health care economics and policy. With Sloan funds, WNYC convenes an annual workshop with leading health care practitioners, economists, and policy experts to discuss health care reform and policy change resulting from the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and to identify subjects for news coverage that focus on health care policy and the economics of the health system in New York and the tristate region. Subjects identified for coverage are then often featured on WNYC’s weekly podcast, Only Human. Potential topics to be covered over the next two years include maternal health care costs in New York, how race and income affect costs and health outcomes, the funding crisis faced by New York City's public hospitals, comparing New York’s state-based health care exchanges to New Jersey’s federal exchange, millennials and mental health, and the Affordable Care Act after Obama. In addition to reporting, WNYC will also launch four community engagement projects that empower listeners with information and encourage beneficial behavioral changes and two to four public events aimed at raising public understanding and engagement with health issues.

    To support health care reporting at WNYC with a focus on the economics and policy of our healthcare system and the impact of the Affordable Care Act on consumers in New York

    More
  • grantee: Science Friday Initiative, Inc.
    amount: $685,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2016

    To support Science Friday, focusing on science and the arts, including radio broadcasts, digital science videos, blog posts, and associated media

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Radio
    • Investigator Ira Flatow

    Funds from this grant provide continued support for the production and distribution of Science Friday, the only regular weekly public radio program that devotes two hours to all things science. Grant funds will support the production of 50 radio segments per year, 5 digital videos per year, 12 articles per year produced and disseminated through the show’s website, an annual multimedia spotlight on a science topic, a yearly Book Club event, and a single special remote broadcast of the show. Science Friday’s audience—the program reaches over two million people each week via its radio show, web streaming, podcasts, blogs, online videos, mobile apps, and social media presence—makes it one of the single most effective channels for dissemination of high-quality, engaging content about the increasingly central role science plays in modern life.

    To support Science Friday, focusing on science and the arts, including radio broadcasts, digital science videos, blog posts, and associated media

    More
  • grantee: The University of Chicago
    amount: $493,818
    city: Chicago, IL
    year: 2016

    To facilitate workforce research by brokering, combining, documenting, and making available for study administrative data about labor markets from a variety of sources

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Matthew Gee

    This grant supports a project by data scientist Matthew Gee and labor economist Iona Marinescu to create an administrative data research facility that will compile high-quality private administrative data on various aspects of the U.S. labor force. Gee and Marinescu’s Workforce Data Initiative will partner with private firms that have valuable administrative data on U.S. workers, including ADP, LinkedIn, Glass Door, O*Net, and CareerBuilder, combine these datasets with relevant publicly available data, and modify and “munge” these data into forms useable by researchers. The resulting datasets will constitute a valuable new resource for economists looking to answer pertinent questions on a host of important issues, including the post-2008 economic recovery, the resilience of local job markets, patterns in layoffs, and wage stickiness.

    To facilitate workforce research by brokering, combining, documenting, and making available for study administrative data about labor markets from a variety of sources

    More
  • grantee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    amount: $485,000
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2016

    To improve the credibility of empirical economics by turning best-practices for research transparency into common practice for research practitioners

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Esther Duflo

    This grant supports an initiative by Esther Duflo at the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) to infuse more rigorous methodology into empirical economics. Mobilizing J-PAL’s formidable research and training programs, Duflo will promote practices such as preregistration of experiment plans; prepublication re-analysis of results; and open sharing of datasets, code, and supporting documentation. Funded activities include a series of graduate fellowships for economics students who work on enhancing reproducibility and the development with MIT of a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on best economics research practices.

    To improve the credibility of empirical economics by turning best-practices for research transparency into common practice for research practitioners

    More
  • grantee: NumFOCUS
    amount: $706,608
    city: Austin, TX
    year: 2016

    To improve teaching and research in quantitative economics by developing codebases and other resources that are compelling, open, and reproducible

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator John Stachurski

    Funds from this grant provide three years of support for the continued development of QuantEcon.org, an online resource for code, data, tutorials, and lectures on quantitative economic modeling. The brainchild of economists John Stachurski of Australian National University and Thomas Sargent of New York University, QuantEcon provides open source modules for economists seeking to model a variety of economic phenomena, covering topics from asset pricing to optimal savings. Grant funds will support a variety of improvements to the site, including the addition of 20 new lectures, an innovative data portal, an open notebook archive, and expanded code libraries. Additional funds will support efforts to move the site toward independent sustainability and to connect its offerings to other economic research institutions. Funds for the development of QuantEcon have been granted to NUMFocus, a nonprofit organization that provides administrative, operational, and strategic support to scientific software projects.

    To improve teaching and research in quantitative economics by developing codebases and other resources that are compelling, open, and reproducible

    More
  • grantee: Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association Inc.
    amount: $525,000
    city: Arlington, VA
    year: 2016

    To support the scientific, technological and engineering component of a six-part public television series on the history of Africa, presented  by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Television
    • Investigator Dalton Delan

    This grant provides partial support for production of a six-part history of the African continent to be hosted by the prominent academic Henry Louis Gates, Jr., the Alphonse Fletcher Professor at Harvard University and director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African American Research. Foundation funds will support segments devoted to documenting the scientific, technological, and engineering achievements of various African civilizations, including such events as the founding of the world's oldest university at Al-Karouine in Morocco in 859 AD; the advanced mathematics developed in Fes, Marakesh, and Timbuktu between the 12th and 17th centuries; and Abu Raihan al-Biruni's precise calculation of Earth's radius. The proposed documentary series not only contains interesting information about the historical development of science and technology, but also challenges widespread stereotypes of Africa as backward and undeveloped and the widespread misunderstanding of the pivotal role African civilizations have played in humanity’s scientific and cultural advance.

    To support the scientific, technological and engineering component of a six-part public television series on the history of Africa, presented  by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

    More
  • grantee: NumFOCUS
    amount: $598,000
    city: Austin, TX
    year: 2016

    To build capacity for business planning and industry engagement within NumFOCUS

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Leah Silen

    NumFOCUS (the NumPy Foundation for Open Code for Usable Science) is a nonprofit founded to handle funds and act as a fiscal sponsor for many essential projects in the open source data science software stack, including several Sloan grantees. Projects choose to affiliate with NumFOCUS for mostly logistical reasons: lower overhead costs than universities; less-bureaucratic finance operations; and greater flexibility for operating across countries and organizations (e.g., hiring a research assistant at a third-party organization). The collection of so many open source projects under one umbrella, however, promises the opportunity to rapidly circulate best practices among member projects. One of the biggest issues shared across the NumFOCUS portfolio is project sustainability. Fund from this grant will help NumFOCUS build capacity in the areas of business planning and industry outreach to serve its portfolio of projects. Funding includes two years of support for a projects director, for efforts to build relationships with industry sponsors, for an annual workshop on business models and sustainability strategies for member projects, and to provide business plan and sustainability mentoring for projects that request it.

    To build capacity for business planning and industry engagement within NumFOCUS

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Berkeley
    amount: $750,000
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2016

    To expand understanding of the processes controlling indoor chemistry

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Chemistry of Indoor Environments
    • Investigator Allen Goldstein

    This grant funds research by Professor William Nazaroff, an expert on the physics and chemistry of indoor air pollutants, and Professor Allen Goldstein, an expert on anthropogenic and natural contributions to the chemical composition of the atmosphere. The researchers are working to expand the understanding of processes controlling abundance, sources, and fates of organic chemicals indoors, focusing on the roles of human occupants as agents influencing indoor air chemistry. Over a several-week period, the researchers will monitor the indoor air of a residence under five conditions: (a) house vacant, emphasis on spatial resolution; (b) house vacant, emphasis on temporal resolution; (c) house normally occupied, emphasis on spatial resolution; (d) house normally occupied, emphasis on temporal resolution; and (e) manipulation experiments, such as cooking, cleaning, or dishwashing. Monitoring will focus on detecting several important chemicals, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs), nitrate radicals, nitrogen oxide trace gases, carbon dioxide, and ozone. In addition, the team will sample environmental conditions such as temperature, relative humidity, ultrafine particulate concentration, and air exchange rates. Samples will then be analyzed to try to apportion VOC chemical concentrations in sampled indoor air to their sources, including outdoor air, building-associated sources present when the residence is vacant, occupant-associated sources, and secondary production from indoor chemical reactions. This project will generate important new insights into indoor chemistry, which will be shared through peer-reviewed publications and presentations at conferences and meetings. At least three students will be trained during the course of the project.

    To expand understanding of the processes controlling indoor chemistry

    More
  • grantee: University of Toronto
    amount: $750,000
    city: Toronto, ON, Canada
    year: 2016

    To expand understanding of multiphase chemistry in indoor environments

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Chemistry of Indoor Environments
    • Investigator Jonathan Abbatt

    This grant funds a three-year collaboration between Jonathan Abbatt, professor of chemistry, and Jeffrey Siegel, associate professor of civil and mineral engineering, to expand our understanding of multiphase chemistry in indoor environments. The overall goal of their grant-supported work is to better understand the nature of the reactive processes that affect the composition of material deposited on indoor surfaces and to examine the associated impacts on the state of the indoor environment. Abbatt and Siegel have chosen three common sources of materials that deposit on surfaces indoors: skin oil materials from people; particles generated by combustion processes such as cooking or cigarette smoking; and common chlorine- and nitrogen-containing cleaning agents such as household bleach. They will expose these chemicals to indoor air under both laboratory and real-world conditions and observe how such exposure leads to particulate deposits and the creation of new compounds. Abbatt and his team will use a comprehensive range of state-of-the-art mass spectrometer instrumentation to conduct the chemical analyses. Most of these instruments have been rarely, if ever, used indoors and the team expects to develop new analytical methods for their deployment indoors. The team will share their findings through peer-reviewed publications and presentations at conferences and meetings. At least one postdoctoral fellow and three students will be trained during the project.

    To expand understanding of multiphase chemistry in indoor environments

    More
  • grantee: OFM Research
    amount: $331,064
    city: Redmond, WA
    year: 2016

    To integrate modeling of melts and fluids for the 4D Deep Carbon in Earth Model of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Mark Ghiorso

    The state of deep carbon modeling today resembles that of climate modeling 40 years ago, when models of the atmosphere, oceans, sea ice and glaciers, forests, and land surface were all partially developed but were not integrated. In today’s geoscience, models exist of the workings of the Earth’s core, the lower and upper mantle, the crust, and of particular processes such as volcanism and plate tectonics, but no system or framework embraces all of these, especially across time scales ranging from thousands to hundreds of millions of years. Funds from this grant support efforts to integrate two popular models: MELTS, Mark Ghiorso’s model of the thermodynamic properties of magmas, and DEW, a model developed by Dmietri Sverjensky that simulates the behavior of water and water-dissolved carbon in the deep Earth. Funds will support the development of an integrated model that will be open source, freely available, released to the scientific community, and suitable for integration into the larger Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO) system of models. Also funded is a workshop that will introduce the new model to the DCO community. Development of comprehensive numerical simulations of the origins, movements, and forms of deep carbon has emerged over the past three years as a major, integrative goal of the Deep Carbon Observatory. The proposed integration of melts and fluid models, if successful, represents significant progress toward to achieving that goal.

    To integrate modeling of melts and fluids for the 4D Deep Carbon in Earth Model of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    More
  • grantee: Carnegie Institution of Washington
    amount: $2,198,534
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2016

    To provide penultimate support for the Secretariat of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Robert Hazen

    This grant supports the continued operation of the Secretariat of the Deep Carbon Observatory DCO). The Secretariat performs a series of invaluable coordinating and steering functions for the Deep Carbon Observatory as a whole, including conducting program management and oversight; organizing the DCO International Science Meeting and other scientific meetings; coordinating all components of the DCO to amplify its impact;  assisting with research synthesis, integration, and long?term planning; expanding and strengthening the DCO partnerships and intra-community interactions; promoting program development and leveraging of DCO resources;  facilitating further development of DCO-supported instruments and promoting their broad community use; engaging early-career scientists in the DCO; and reducing enterprise risks. Grant funds will support these and other activities of the secretariat as the DCO moves toward completion in 2019.

    To provide penultimate support for the Secretariat of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Davis
    amount: $20,000
    city: Davis, CA
    year: 2016

    To support a workshop to enhance and extend the functionality of the mybinder notebook computing platform

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Charles Brown

    To support a workshop to enhance and extend the functionality of the mybinder notebook computing platform

    More
  • grantee: Mathematical Sciences Publishers
    amount: $50,000
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2016

    To enable a peer-reviewed journal for undergraduate research in mathematics (Involve) to increase its subscriptions and ensure its longevity

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Robion Kirby

    To enable a peer-reviewed journal for undergraduate research in mathematics (Involve) to increase its subscriptions and ensure its longevity

    More
  • grantee: Harvard University
    amount: $19,460
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2016

    To compile, edit, and workshop the first Handbook in Behavioral Economics

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Behavioral and Regulatory Effects on Decision-making (BRED)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator David Laibson

    To compile, edit, and workshop the first Handbook in Behavioral Economics

    More
  • grantee: National Academy of Sciences
    amount: $40,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2016

    To disseminate the results of a study assessing approaches to update the estimate of the social cost of carbon

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Jennifer Heimberg

    To disseminate the results of a study assessing approaches to update the estimate of the social cost of carbon

    More
  • grantee: University of California, San Francisco
    amount: $101,858
    city: San Francisco, CA
    year: 2016

    To partially fund the planning and piloting of a preprint service for the life sciences

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Ronald Vale

    To partially fund the planning and piloting of a preprint service for the life sciences

    More
  • grantee: Abt Associates
    amount: $124,966
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2016

    To complete planning and pilot baseline data collection for an evaluation of the Moore-Sloan Data Science Environment grants

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Joseph Taylor

    To complete planning and pilot baseline data collection for an evaluation of the Moore-Sloan Data Science Environment grants

    More
  • grantee: Genetics Society of America
    amount: $10,000
    city: Bethesda, MD
    year: 2016

    To provide partial travel awards to 20 URM doctoral students in genetics to participate in The Allied Genetics Conference, July 13-17 in Orlando, FL

    • Program Higher Education
    • Initiative Professional Advancement of Underrepresented Groups
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Elizabeth Ruedi

    To provide partial travel awards to 20 URM doctoral students in genetics to participate in The Allied Genetics Conference, July 13-17 in Orlando, FL

    More
  • grantee: Resources for the Future, Inc.
    amount: $124,188
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2016

    To research and estimate the macroeconomic and wealth transfer effects of unanticipated oil supply disruptions

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Richard Morgenstern

    To research and estimate the macroeconomic and wealth transfer effects of unanticipated oil supply disruptions

    More
  • grantee: Resources for the Future, Inc.
    amount: $100,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2016

    To support dissemination of RFF research to policymakers and the public through the Sharp Policy Engagement Fund

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Richard Newell

    To support dissemination of RFF research to policymakers and the public through the Sharp Policy Engagement Fund

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Berkeley
    amount: $99,922
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2016

    To advance research on the economics of energy efficiency by managing a Request for Proposals solicitation, auditing the implementation of energy efficiency programs, and facilitating connections between researchers

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Catherine Wolfram

    To advance research on the economics of energy efficiency by managing a Request for Proposals solicitation, auditing the implementation of energy efficiency programs, and facilitating connections between researchers

    More
  • grantee: Wikimedia Foundation
    amount: $20,000
    city: San Francisco, CA
    year: 2016

    To help support a meeting on the citation of academic research in Wikipedia

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Dario Taraborelli

    To help support a meeting on the citation of academic research in Wikipedia

    More
  • grantee: Mathematical Sciences Research Institute
    amount: $124,982
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2016

    To support a national festival that increases the appreciation of mathematics and mathematical research

    • Program Science
    • Investigator David Eisenbud

    To support a national festival that increases the appreciation of mathematics and mathematical research

    More
  • grantee: Technology Affinity Group
    amount: $5,000
    city: Wayne, PA
    year: 2016

    For 2016 Membership Dues

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Lisa Pool

    For 2016 Membership Dues

    More
  • grantee: University of Washington
    amount: $124,370
    city: Seattle, WA
    year: 2016

    To develop up-to-date pricing and quality metrics that enable researchers to better compare Open Access journals to other Open Access and non-Open Access journals

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Jevin West

    To develop up-to-date pricing and quality metrics that enable researchers to better compare Open Access journals to other Open Access and non-Open Access journals

    More
  • grantee: American Association for the Advancement of Science
    amount: $30,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2016

    To support post-workshop activities that explore the desirability and feasibility of adapting the UK’s Athena SWAN diversity initiative for use in US institutions

    • Program Higher Education
    • Initiative Professional Advancement of Underrepresented Groups
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Shirley Malcom

    To support post-workshop activities that explore the desirability and feasibility of adapting the UK’s Athena SWAN diversity initiative for use in US institutions

    More
  • grantee: University of Minnesota
    amount: $88,725
    city: Minneapolis, MN
    year: 2016

    To plan a consortial model for data curation resource sharing among academic libraries

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Lisa Johnston

    To plan a consortial model for data curation resource sharing among academic libraries

    More
  • grantee: St. Joseph Hospital Foundation
    amount: $2,500
    city: Orange, CA
    year: 2016

    To support the work of St. Joseph Hospital Foundation in memory of Robert Lin

    • Program
    • Investigator Stephen Hollister

    To support the work of St. Joseph Hospital Foundation in memory of Robert Lin

    More
  • grantee: National Science Communication Institute
    amount: $20,000
    city: Seattle, WA
    year: 2016

    To partially support the inaugural meeting of the Open Scholarship Initiative

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Glenn Hampson

    To partially support the inaugural meeting of the Open Scholarship Initiative

    More
  • grantee: FORCE11
    amount: $20,000
    city: San Diego, CA
    year: 2016

    To partially support the 2016 Future of Research Communication and eScholarship meeting

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Maryann Martone

    To partially support the 2016 Future of Research Communication and eScholarship meeting

    More
  • grantee: University of Michigan
    amount: $20,000
    city: Ann Arbor, MI
    year: 2016

    To support a workshop of “rising star” researchers in Computer?Supported Cooperative Work

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Stephanie Teasley

    To support a workshop of “rising star” researchers in Computer?Supported Cooperative Work

    More
  • grantee: University of Massachusetts, Amherst
    amount: $19,971
    city: Amherst, MA
    year: 2016

    To identify whether and how different survey methodologies affect the results of expert elicitations focused on energy technologies

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Erin Baker

    To identify whether and how different survey methodologies affect the results of expert elicitations focused on energy technologies

    More
  • grantee: Seth Stephens-Davidowitz
    amount: $45,620
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2016

    To support the research and writing of Needles and Haystacks: The Smart Way to Use New Data, a book on the wide-ranging applications of Big Data analysis

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Seth Stephens-Davidowitz

    To support the research and writing of Needles and Haystacks: The Smart Way to Use New Data, a book on the wide-ranging applications of Big Data analysis

    More
  • grantee: University of Texas, Austin
    amount: $19,583
    city: Austin, TX
    year: 2016

    To support a small summit of ethnographers of data and software practices

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator James Howison

    To support a small summit of ethnographers of data and software practices

    More
  • grantee: Environmental Defense Fund Inc.
    amount: $400,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2016

    To undertake exploratory pilot research projects examining the environmental impacts of shale oil and gas development that include the development of improved wastewater characterization techniques and biological treatment methodologies

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Steven Hamburg

    This grant supports two projects led by the Environmental Defense Fund to investigate the environmental impacts of the wastewater used in the extraction of shale gas and oil. In the first project, EDF will partner with chemist Michael Thurman from the University of Colorado, Boulder to develop standard methods for identifying the chemical characteristics of wastewater generated by hydraulic fracturing. Fracking wastewater can differ significantly from site to site due to procedural and environmental factors. Wastewater from different sites might have vastly different environmental impacts, and thus necessitate different treatment and disposal procedures. Thurman’s research will allow for the characterization of wastewater samples from across different fracking sites and enable the creation of standardized reference benchmarks that researchers can use to better determine the constituents of fracking wastewater. In the second project, EDF will work with environmental engineer Karl Linden of the University of Colorado, Boulder, and molecular biologist Kartik Chandran of Columbia University to develop better treatment and disposal techniques for wastewater produced by hydraulic fracturing. In a series of experiments, Linden and Chandran will explore how biological treatment processes could be used to metabolize the organic compounds present in such wastewater. In addition to providing scientific and technical input to their scientific partners, EDF will help manage each collaboration, and assist in disseminating the research results.

    To undertake exploratory pilot research projects examining the environmental impacts of shale oil and gas development that include the development of improved wastewater characterization techniques and biological treatment methodologies

    More
  • grantee: Pecan Street, Inc.
    amount: $450,000
    city: Austin, TX
    year: 2016

    To improve its Dataport software and data visualization, expand available energy data content, and increase academic researcher use of the database

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Brewster McCracken

    High-quality, easily searchable data on the transmission, distribution, and use of electricity are hard to come by. Existing data sources usually fall short in a number of ways. Many data sets report electricity usage statistics only at monthly or yearly intervals, making it impossible to measure how demand varies from day-to-day, hour-to-hour, or minute-to-minute. Usage data are often aggregated at the household level, not broken down by individual appliance, making it difficult to study consumer behavior. Often, data are only available in hard-to-use formats that are not amendable to manipulation, combination, or visualization. Pecan Street has created a data analytics tool, called Dataport, to provide timely, disaggregated electricity usage information to researchers. Data are collected from more than 1,000 homes outfitted with appliance-level sensors that report energy usage at fine-grained intervals. These data are also presented in a way that can be easily queried and visualized. Funds from this grant support three initiatives aimed at strengthening Dataport and increasing its usefulness to researchers. First, the Dataport team will implement several technical improvements to the platform, including better visualization tools, an improved user interface, and a new capacity that allows researchers to draw information from multiple data sources simultaneously. Second, Pecan Street will expand and diversify available data through importing and integrating electricity usage and pricing data from several government, utility, and regional transmission sources. Third, Pecan Street will extend its academic outreach and education activities to expand use of the platform, including on-campus training sessions, a research conference, and a paper competition for papers using Dataport data.

    To improve its Dataport software and data visualization, expand available energy data content, and increase academic researcher use of the database

    More
  • grantee: Carnegie Mellon University
    amount: $387,546
    city: Pittsburgh, PA
    year: 2016

    To study the current and future factors contributing to the technological viability, economic impact, and environmental consequences of fuel cell technologies

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Jay Whitacre

    Fuel cells, which use chemistry rather than combustion to generate electricity, have a wide range of potential applications, from large arrays that can be integrated into the electricity grid to small cells that can power vehicles. Experts in the field, however, remain uncertain about a number of important issues, including how efficient fuel cells will become, how much costs will drop, and to what degree hypothesized benefits will be achieved when fuel cells leave the lab and enter the real world. This grant supports an emerging cohort of scholars at Carnegie Mellon University’s Scott Institute for Energy Innovation plan to clarify these uncertainties. A team led by Jay Whitacre will conduct an expansive literature review and background assessment, laying out the current state of development of various fuel cell technologies, their advantages, their drawbacks, and what is and is not known about each. The team will then undertake an in-depth expert elicitation process that utilizes surveys, in-person interviews, and group discussions to identify consensus and critical uncertainties associated with the different fuel cell technologies being studied. The iterative expert elicitation process will provide a method for aggregating this diverse array of expert perspectives and will result in a series of high-profile, peer-reviewed journal articles that will cover topics related both to stationary fuel cell applications and the use of fuel cells in transportation. The effort promises to clarify the current state of fuel cell research, identify gaps in our knowledge, and expose promising ways forward.

    To study the current and future factors contributing to the technological viability, economic impact, and environmental consequences of fuel cell technologies

    More
  • grantee: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    amount: $234,100
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2016

    To advance knowledge about the economic efficiency and distributional equity tradeoffs associated with energy policy interventions in the United States

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Don Fullerton

    This grant supports a series of research projects coordinated by researchers at the National Bureau of Economic Research examining the distributional and efficiency tradeoffs and implications of U.S. energy policy. Sixteen researchers will carry out eight different studies that will look at a variety of interrelated issues, including whether the energy reductions achieved by current policies could be obtained at lower cost, how the costs of current energy policies are distributed across and within different income groups, and whether and to what extent these burdens could be upset by additional tax and transfer policies. Policies to be examined include vehicle and appliance efficiency standards, renewal energy subsidies, electric and hybrid automobile purchasing subsidies, and green building codes. The resulting research papers will be published in a special peer-reviewed issue of the Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists.   Though the papers concern U.S. energy policies and will have obvious relevance to environmentalists and policymakers, the focus of each will be strictly empirical. No policy recommendations will be made.

    To advance knowledge about the economic efficiency and distributional equity tradeoffs associated with energy policy interventions in the United States

    More
  • grantee: Hypothesis Project
    amount: $394,465
    city: San Francisco, CA
    year: 2016

    To establish sustainable business models for the Hypothes.is web annotation platform

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Dan Whaley

    Hypothes.is is a web-based annotation platform that enables users to annotate online documents and share their annotations with others. Supported by the Sloan Foundation from conception through prototyping, the platform now has 10,000 regular users and is seeing increasing use among lawyers, journalists, and academic researchers. Interest from the academic publishing community has been particularly noteworthy, as several publishers have developed their own, expensive, internal annotation systems as part of their publication review and editing process. This grant supports efforts by Hypothes.is to move the platform away from philanthropic support and toward independent financial sustainability. Grant funds support the hiring of a head of business development, software modifications that will allow the platform to function on a software-as-a-service model; and the creation of administrative interfaces for client publishers.

    To establish sustainable business models for the Hypothes.is web annotation platform

    More
  • grantee: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
    amount: $250,000
    city: Blacksburg, VA
    year: 2016

    To examine how warm ambient water temperatures and recycled water influence the building plumbing microbiome

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Amy Pruden

    Drinking water regulations focus on the quality of the water coming out of the water treatment plant, but water can pick up bacteria and other microbes as it travels from the plant to the faucet.  Since 2012, the Foundation has supported researchers at Virginia Tech to characterize the plumbing microbiome and how it affects the microbial profile of household water. This two-year grant continues Foundation support for this work.  Professors Amy Pruden and Marc Edwards at Virginia Tech have designed a series of experiments to explore how warm (30°C) ambient water temperatures and use of recycled water influence the building plumbing microbiome. Over the next two years, they will use complementary batch and continuous flow experiments to study how water temperature affects abundance and diversity among bacteria and amoebae in household water and whether recycled water’s distinct chemistry (relative to potable water) causes greater proliferation of bacteria and free-living amoebae in bulk water and biofilms. The Virginia Tech team will share their findings through peer-reviewed papers and presentations at national and international conferences and through blog posts and other social media. The sequence data will be deposited in public databases. At least one student and two postdoctoral fellows will be trained under the grant.

    To examine how warm ambient water temperatures and recycled water influence the building plumbing microbiome

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Berkeley
    amount: $750,000
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2016

    To provide renewed support to examine the microbiology of the neonatal intensive care unit environment

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Jillian Banfield

    With Foundation support, a team led by Jillian Banfield at the University of California, Berkeley has been investigating how preterm infants, taken from their mothers at birth and placed in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), nonetheless acquire the microbes that will become their human microbiome. Initial findings suggest microbes from the “sterile” NICU itself colonize the infants. This grant supports the continuation of Banfield’s work for an additional three years. Banfield hypothesizes that certain forms of microbial life can survive in NICU environments for months or years, travel from room to room by riding on nurses’ clothing, and eventually become incorporated into infant gut, oral, or skin microbiomes. To test these hypotheses, Banfield and her team will track three rooms and their occupants in the NICU of the Magee-Women’s Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA over two years. Using advanced metagenomic techniques, the team will identify persistent, room‐adapted strains of microbes living in the NICU, identify which of these strains successfully colonize infant patients, and quantify the transfer of microbes via bioaerosols and travel vectors such as nurses’ uniforms. The team will share their findings through journal publications, presentations at national and international conferences, and through blogs on microBE.net.

    To provide renewed support to examine the microbiology of the neonatal intensive care unit environment

    More
  • grantee: Michigan State University
    amount: $487,203
    city: East Lansing, MI
    year: 2016

    To advance our understanding of how establishments respond to changes in pensionable ages implemented through public pension reform and phased over a 13-year period

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Peter Berg

    This grant supports the research of Peter Berg at Michigan State University, who is examining how changes in pensionable ages implemented through public pension reform in Germany affected the managerial strategies businesses adopted in response to longer work lives. The work is the first microeconomic examination of the effects of increases in social security age on establishments’ internal labor markets. Berg and his team will use linked employer-employee data (LIAB) provided by the Research Data Center (FDZ) at the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) in Germany. This LIAB will then be combined with administrative establishment data from the Establishment History Panel (BHP) to construct the projected policy impact variable. These unique data will allow Berg to examine of how changes in pensionable age differentially affect business establishments; how they affect hiring, promotion, and compensation decisions; and whether they are linked to store or factory closure. The team will also catalogue and assess the diversity of establishment responses to increases in the pensionable age.

    To advance our understanding of how establishments respond to changes in pensionable ages implemented through public pension reform and phased over a 13-year period

    More
  • grantee: American Museum of the Moving Image
    amount: $399,824
    city: Astoria, NY
    year: 2016

    To maintain and develop the comprehensive, up-to-date, go-to site for the nationwide Sloan Film program, its participating partners and 500+ film projects and to add a Sloan Film Channel

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Carl Goodman

    This grant provides three years of support to the American Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI) to maintain and develop its Sloan Science and Film website, the most up-to-date and comprehensive resource for information about film projects supported through the Foundation’s Film program. Funds will support a site redesign that will streamline the user interface and upgrade accessibility on mobile phones, the development of a new content management system, the creation of a Sloan Film Channel, and the hiring of a full-time managing editor who will be responsible for a host of activities, including producing audio and visual content; writing and posting articles; organizing public Science and Film events; commissioning critics and scientists to contribute to the site; liaising with Sloan film partners and with filmmakers and scientists; and promoting site content on social media.

    To maintain and develop the comprehensive, up-to-date, go-to site for the nationwide Sloan Film program, its participating partners and 500+ film projects and to add a Sloan Film Channel

    More
  • grantee: Columbia University
    amount: $289,541
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2016

    To encourage the next generation of filmmakers to write screenplays and produce short films about science and technology through enhanced research, mentorship, and award opportunities

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Trey Ellis

    This grant continues support for a program at Columbia University that aims to encourage the next generation of filmmakers to write screenplays and produce short films about science and technology. Supported activities include two annual $10,000 awards given to the best student screenplay with a scientific or technological theme; two $20,000 production awards to help produce a science-themed film project; a student mentoring program and an annual information session and panel discussion introducing students to  the program offerings and to working scientists; and off-campus learning activities that expose student filmmakers to the process of scientific inquiry and cutting-edge developments in modern science. Grant funds provide support for these and related activities for three years.

    To encourage the next generation of filmmakers to write screenplays and produce short films about science and technology through enhanced research, mentorship, and award opportunities

    More
  • grantee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    amount: $349,768
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2016

    To support the growth of nine new science festival initiatives in communities across the country with small resource bases

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program New Media
    • Investigator John Durant

    This grant supports a collaboration between the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Science Festival Alliance (SFA) to allow the SFA—a network and incubator of community-based science festivals across the country—to add nine more science festivals in communities with small resource bases. Over the next two years, the collaboration will select and recruit nine community science festivals for inclusion in the network, providing nine challenge grants that facilitate expansion and development. Science festival members would then be ready to mentor future new science festivals. The project promises to accelerate the geographical spread of the science festival movement and promote science festivals as an effective instrument to advance public understanding of science.

    To support the growth of nine new science festival initiatives in communities across the country with small resource bases

    More
  • grantee: National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, Inc.
    amount: $3,300,000
    city: White Plains, NY
    year: 2016

    To support the Alfred P. Sloan Minority Ph.D. Program (MPHD) through Phase 1 Renewal Grants for University Centers of Exemplary Mentoring (UCEMs) at Cornell University, Georgia Institute of Technology, and The Pennsylvania State University

    • Program Higher Education
    • Initiative Minority Ph.D.
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Christopher Smith

    In 2013, the Foundation made grants to Cornel University, Georgia Institute of Technology, and The Pennsylvania State University for the establishment and operation of three University Centers for Exemplary Mentoring (UCEMs). Part of the Foundation’s Minority Ph.D. program, UCEMs are coordinated, campus-wide initiatives aimed at promoting the success of STEM graduate students from traditionally underrepresented groups. UCEMs provide minority graduate students with a host of different benefits, including $40,000 in direct fellowship support for selected students, peer and faculty mentoring, seminars on various aspects of graduate life, a variety of professional development activities, and programs aimed at recruiting and retaining talented minority graduate students. Funds from this grant provide three years of continued operational support for the UCEMs at Cornell, Georgia Tech, and Penn State. Grant funds are administered and dispersed by the Foundation’s agent, the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME). Additional funds from this grant will be used by NACME for evaluation and analysis of UCEM progress and to facilitate travel and information-gathering.

    To support the Alfred P. Sloan Minority Ph.D. Program (MPHD) through Phase 1 Renewal Grants for University Centers of Exemplary Mentoring (UCEMs) at Cornell University, Georgia Institute of Technology, and The Pennsylvania State University

    More
  • grantee: Social Science Research Council
    amount: $975,976
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2016

    To establish the structure, governance, and offerings of the Sloan Scholars Mentor Network for a three-year cycle, with an initial target audience of Sloan Scholar MPHD graduates in academic careers

    • Program Higher Education
    • Initiative Professional Advancement of Underrepresented Groups
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Mary McDonnell

    Since the Sloan Minority Ph.D. (MPHD) program began in 1995, more than 900 minority graduate students supported by the Foundation have received their Ph.D. in a STEM field. Some 450 more students are still making progress toward their degree. Funds from this grant to the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) support the establishment of a professional development network for alumni of the Sloan Minority Ph.D. program, with a particular emphasis on those alumni who have or will continue their scholarly work in positions as college or university faculty. Over the next three years, the SSRC will spearhead the creation of the Sloan Scholar Mentor Network, and will conduct a variety of activities to grow and strengthen the network and to ensure it delivers value to its members. These include studying alumni to understand their evolving needs as researchers and faculty members, and as underrepresented minorities in STEM; building a robust and active mentoring network; working to build a common identity among alumni; offering leadership training and support to help Sloan alumni become established as leaders in their fields and workplaces, and to prepare them to become change agents within their home institutions; and establishing evaluation procedures that will enable the network to increasingly deliver value to its members. Planned activities involve “meet and greet” events at universities and disciplinary meetings, a biennial conference for alumni, a recent Ph.D. retreat for postdoctoral fellows and early-career faculty, the creation of an up-to-date directory, and a series of professional development webinars.

    To establish the structure, governance, and offerings of the Sloan Scholars Mentor Network for a three-year cycle, with an initial target audience of Sloan Scholar MPHD graduates in academic careers

    More
  • grantee: Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association Inc.
    amount: $1,000,000
    city: Arlington, VA
    year: 2016

    To continue weekly broadcast of Paul Solman's economic and business coverage Making Sen$e on PBS NewsHour and to support online, social media, and digital content and audiences

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Television
    • Investigator Lee Koromvokis

    Funds from this grant support the continued production of Making Sen$e with Paul Solman. Broadcast on the PBS NewsHour and supplemented by original content produced for the segment’s website, Making Sen$e is a series of short news segments that explain business and economic news clearly and engagingly to a general audience. Topics covered by Making Sen$e segments include the contingent workforce, welfare-to-work programs, the minimum wage, the carried interest tax loophole, the foreclosure crisis, the EB?5 visa program, and the economics of terrorism, online dating, and sports gambling. Grant funds support the production of 52 segments over the next year, as well as additional funds for improved graphics and the production of high-quality web-exclusive content.

    To continue weekly broadcast of Paul Solman's economic and business coverage Making Sen$e on PBS NewsHour and to support online, social media, and digital content and audiences

    More
  • grantee: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
    amount: $500,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2016

    As a final grant to support the growth and expansion of citizen science within and outside of government

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Anne Bowser

    Citizen science projects advance scientific inquiry by enlisting large crowds of volunteers to clean, code, and categorize large datasets in areas where humans still outperform machines. Though the usefulness of citizen science is no longer seriously in doubt, obstacles remain that prevent it from reaching its full potential. A lack of common standards for citizen science data projects makes it difficult to share or repurpose data; regulatory barriers inhibit federal agencies from using citizen science effectively; and the lack of a common repository of information on citizen science projects prevents researchers from taking advantage of what has already been learned. This grant supports efforts by the Commons Lab at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars to ease some of these barriers. Over the next two years, a team led by Anne Bowser will join with members of the citizen science community to spearhead a grassroots effort to develop common metadata standards; create a database of citizen science projects, develop a platform and API to facilitate citizen science data-sharing, examine the ethical and regulatory barriers to using unpaid volunteers in research projects, and conduct outreach to federal agencies and policymakers about the way in which citizen science can and is being used to further the aims of federal initiatives.

    As a final grant to support the growth and expansion of citizen science within and outside of government

    More
  • grantee: Yale University
    amount: $996,922
    city: New Haven, CT
    year: 2016

    To conduct research and professional training on the theory and global practice of macroprudential regulation

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Financial and Institutional Modeling in Macroeconomics (FIMM)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Andrew Metrick

    This grant provides support to the Yale Program on Financial Stability (YPFS), a research and professional training program that exposes financial regulators to the best current theory and global practice in macroprudential regulation. Grant funds provide three years of support for the program’s summer school. Supported activities include a two-week Systemic Risk Symposium that brings regulators together with senior researchers to analyze past cases of regulatory intervention in such areas as asset crashes, liquidity crises, and the shadow banking sector; an academic conference on Fighting a Financial Crisis in which program participants serve as discussants of new, cutting-edge academic research; a Ph.D. dissertation workshop to expose students to regulatory datasets and career paths; and a Financial Crisis Forum that brings in highly regarded financial regulators like Ben Bernanke, Tim Geithner, Hank Paulson, and Stanley Fisher to discuss macroprudential regulation and the challenges and obstacles that stand in the way of effective regulatory intervention during financial crises.   Led by Professor Andrew Metrick, the Yale Program on Financial Stability is the only program of its kind. Its continued success holds the potential to build bridges between the academic and regulatory communities, spur further research, and equip the next generation of financial regulators with the tools they need to better fight future financial crises.

    To conduct research and professional training on the theory and global practice of macroprudential regulation

    More
  • grantee: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    amount: $790,740
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2016

    To support the NBER Summer Institute

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Janet Currie

    The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) Summer Institute is arguably the most important and influential annual event for empirical economists. This grant to NBER provides partial organizational and administrative funding for the Summer Institute for the next three years. The Summer Institute is a three-week academic festival. Over 2,400 economists participate in at least one of over 50 workshops. Directors of NBER’s 20 programs organize overlapping tracks that cover labor, aging, health, and other traditional subjects. In addition, special working groups meet at the Summer Institute to exchange ideas, discuss recent scholarly work, and identify promising new topics for study. Many prominent research results are first presented at the Institute, some in preliminary form that benefit from the intense discussion both during and after a workshop. There are also popular plenary sessions, such as the annual Feldstein Lecture and the Sloan-funded Methods Lecture. In addition to general support for the Institute, grant funds will be used to videotape sessions for wider distribution and for scholarships that underwrite the participation of emerging scholars from underrepresented groups.

    To support the NBER Summer Institute

    More
  • grantee: Ensemble Studio Theatre, Inc.
    amount: $1,800,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2016

    To commission, develop, produce and disseminate new science plays in New York and across the country

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Theater
    • Investigator William Carden

    This grant continues support for a series of initiatives by the Ensemble Studio Theatre (EST) to develop, produce, and disseminate new science plays. Each season, EST commissions between 10 and 20 new science-themed scripts from emerging and established playwrights; hosts its annual First Light festival, which celebrates science-themed plays with staged readings, workshops, and other events; sponsors events to bring the theater and scientific community together; makes seed grants to regional theaters around the country to develop science-themed plays with local writers; and produces a mainstage production of one play addressing scientific or technical themes or featuring a scientist, engineer, or mathematician as a major character. Grant funds provide support for these activities for three years.

    To commission, develop, produce and disseminate new science plays in New York and across the country

    More
  • grantee: University of Cambridge
    amount: $99,376
    city: Cambridge, United Kingdom
    year: 2016

    To provide strategic vision and leadership of the Deep Carbon Observatory Synthesis Group for the 2019 program finale

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Marie Edmonds

    The year 2019 will mark the culmination of 10 years of scientific discovery by more than 800 scientists from 40 nations who form the Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO). New discoveries are emerging about deep life, about the diversity of ways that oils and gases form, about mineral evolution, and about the co-evolution of the geosphere and biosphere. This grant supports the creation of a Synthesis Group within the DCO, led by Dr. Marie Edmonds of the University of Cambridge, U.K., which will take responsibility for ensuring that the project delivers on its commitments and that the whole of the project promises to be more than the sum of its parts. Edmonds and her team plan to explore several different possibilities for intellectual synthesis of the Deep Carbon Observatory’s work. Possibilities include a dynamic model of deep carbon in Earth, a diamond-themed synthesis that uses the popular gemstone to tell us as much as possible about deep carbon, a place-based synthesis that uses geographic or geological location to tell as much as possible about deep carbon, a mineral evolution synthesis, and an “Earth in five reactions” synthesis that tells the story of deep carbon through major chemical processes like serpentinization. Over the next two years, grant funds will allow Edmonds and her team to explore and prioritize these different approaches to synthesis as well as develop synthesis-related projects for potential future support.

    To provide strategic vision and leadership of the Deep Carbon Observatory Synthesis Group for the 2019 program finale

    More
  • grantee: University of Rhode Island
    amount: $967,731
    city: Kingston, RI
    year: 2016

    To continue conducting engagement activities and to provide support for synthesis activities of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Robert Pockalny

    Funds from this grant continue support for the Engagement Team of the Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO), which provides internal and external communications services to the international community of DCO geoscientists. Led by Sara Hickox at the University of Rhode Island, the Engagement Team provides content for the Deep Carbon Observatory website, publishes a newsletter and blog, compiles an up-to-date bibliography of DCO publications, maintains a contact database on the approximately 800 DCO researchers, oversees network-wide events, spearheads public engagement efforts, provides graphic design services for DCO researchers, and works to ensure smooth intra-DCO communication of goals, priorities, and achievements. Grant funds support the continuation of these activities for an additional two years. In addition, Hickox and the Engagement Team will provide support to the newly created Synthesis Group of the DCO, which focuses on synthesizing the diverse research accomplishments of DCO researchers in anticipation of the project’s contemplated end in 2019.

    To continue conducting engagement activities and to provide support for synthesis activities of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    More
  • grantee: Astrophysical Research Consortium
    amount: $107,000
    city: Seattle, WA
    year: 2016

    To evaluate the prospects, operational landscape, and potential options for the future of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) research program and its facilities in the 2020s

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Sloan Digital Sky Survey
    • Investigator Juna Kollmeier

    To evaluate the prospects, operational landscape, and potential options for the future of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) research program and its facilities in the 2020s

    More
  • grantee: Foundation Center
    amount: $75,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2016

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Bradford Smith

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    More
  • grantee: University of Maryland, Baltimore
    amount: $20,000
    city: Baltimore, MD
    year: 2016

    To conduct planning activities for the MoBE 2017 meeting

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Lynn Schriml

    To conduct planning activities for the MoBE 2017 meeting

    More
  • grantee: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    amount: $16,140
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2016

    To support a student conference as part of the Undergraduate Women in Economics Challenge

    • Program Economics
    • Investigator Claudia Goldin

    To support a student conference as part of the Undergraduate Women in Economics Challenge

    More
  • grantee: Stevens Institute of Technology
    amount: $39,340
    city: Hoboken, NJ
    year: 2016

    To support the research and writing of a book on the role of cancer-causing viruses

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Gregory Morgan

    To support the research and writing of a book on the role of cancer-causing viruses

    More
  • grantee: Joel N. Shurkin
    amount: $46,900
    city: Baltimore, MD
    year: 2016

    To support a book on the physicist Richard Garwin who designed the hydrogen bomb that explores the relationship between science and government

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Joel Shurkin

    To support a book on the physicist Richard Garwin who designed the hydrogen bomb that explores the relationship between science and government

    More
  • grantee: Council on Foundations, Inc.
    amount: $25,000
    city: Arlington, VA
    year: 2016

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Phillip Blackmon

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    More
  • grantee: Philanthropy New York
    amount: $28,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2016

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Kristen Ruff

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    More
  • grantee: New Venture Fund
    amount: $203,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2016

    To encourage charitable giving in support of basic scientific research through Sloan membership in the Science Philanthropy Alliance

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Bruce Boyd

    To encourage charitable giving in support of basic scientific research through Sloan membership in the Science Philanthropy Alliance

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Berkeley
    amount: $50,000
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2016

    To support two sessions of the Energy Institute at Haas’ Energy Camp in order to bring together top energy economists to discuss and explore new research ideas on energy markets

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Lucas Davis

    To support two sessions of the Energy Institute at Haas’ Energy Camp in order to bring together top energy economists to discuss and explore new research ideas on energy markets

    More
  • grantee: American Friends of the Hebrew University
    amount: $14,800
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2016

    To support broad participation by behavioral and experimental economists in the Economic Science Association’s annual conference

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Behavioral and Regulatory Effects on Decision-making (BRED)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Eyal Winter

    To support broad participation by behavioral and experimental economists in the Economic Science Association’s annual conference

    More
  • grantee: Emory University
    amount: $124,617
    city: Atlanta, GA
    year: 2016

    To support a national workshop on the microbiology of legionella in the built environment

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Ruth Berkelman

    To support a national workshop on the microbiology of legionella in the built environment

    More
  • grantee: Cornell University
    amount: $125,000
    city: Ithaca, NY
    year: 2016

    To examine how disinfectants may promote antibiotic resistance through horizontal gene transfer

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Ilana Brito

    To examine how disinfectants may promote antibiotic resistance through horizontal gene transfer

    More
  • grantee: Manhattan Action Fund
    amount: $20,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2016

    To support Up with Aging, a healthy brain aging fair designed to invigorate the lives of older adults and alter the negative attitudes toward aging that are common among older adults

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Adele Bartlett

    To support Up with Aging, a healthy brain aging fair designed to invigorate the lives of older adults and alter the negative attitudes toward aging that are common among older adults

    More
  • grantee: University of Maryland, Baltimore County
    amount: $31,000
    city: Baltimore, MD
    year: 2016

    To support Seeing Science: Photography, Science and Visual Culture, an online project and on-site exhibition

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program New Media
    • Investigator Symmes Gardner

    To support Seeing Science: Photography, Science and Visual Culture, an online project and on-site exhibition

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Berkeley
    amount: $120,000
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2015

    To characterize the microbial contribution to the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in real residential environments through temporally and spatially resolved VOC measurements

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Allen Goldstein

    To characterize the microbial contribution to the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in real residential environments through temporally and spatially resolved VOC measurements

    More
  • grantee: University of Colorado, Boulder
    amount: $120,000
    city: Boulder, CO
    year: 2015

    To elucidate beneficial pathways of Mycobacteriome Exposures in our Built Environment

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Odessa Gomez

    To elucidate beneficial pathways of Mycobacteriome Exposures in our Built Environment

    More
  • grantee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    amount: $120,000
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2015

    To develop genomic assays targeted at the human?associated microbiome that can be used to monitor biological safety, enabling potable reuse of wastewater

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Fangqiong Ling

    To develop genomic assays targeted at the human?associated microbiome that can be used to monitor biological safety, enabling potable reuse of wastewater

    More
  • grantee: New York University
    amount: $696,815
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2015

    To evaluate how changes in tax and benefit policies and in retirement savings policies would impact wealth accumulation and labor supply of older workers

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Andrew Caplin

    Funds from this grant support a project by economist Andrew Caplin to understand the interaction between policies that stimulate greater retirement savings and those that encourage working later in life. Using a rich administrative dataset on Danish workers, Caplin will use structural estimation methods and model-driven survey questions to develop a model that will simulate workers’ responses to a variety of public policy changes. The model will predict how households, faced with wage, health, and mortality shocks, respond by changing their decision on how much to save, what medical goods and services to purchase, and whether and when to retire or to work full or part time. Caplin’s research, focused as it is on how decisions to save and decisions to work are jointly affected by changes in the circumstances facing households, represents an unusually useful addition to the economics literature on working longer, since little is known about the interaction between savings, consumption, and decisions to enter or exit the work force. Caplin anticipates the work will result in three published papers and a workshop. The survey data he collects and the model he develops will also be made openly available for use by other researchers.

    To evaluate how changes in tax and benefit policies and in retirement savings policies would impact wealth accumulation and labor supply of older workers

    More
  • grantee: University System of Maryland Foundation, Inc.
    amount: $124,775
    city: Adelphi, MD
    year: 2015

    To strengthen postsecondary mathematics education by developing strategic partnerships with mathematical leaders, funders, and clients

    • Program Science
    • Investigator William Kirwan

    To strengthen postsecondary mathematics education by developing strategic partnerships with mathematical leaders, funders, and clients

    More
  • grantee: Mycological Society of America
    amount: $28,500
    city: Lawrence, KS
    year: 2015

    To highlight ongoing studies of fungi in the built environment and increase understanding of fundamental processes that influence fungal communities at the 2016 annual Mycological Society of America meeting

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Rachel Adams

    To highlight ongoing studies of fungi in the built environment and increase understanding of fundamental processes that influence fungal communities at the 2016 annual Mycological Society of America meeting

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Irvine
    amount: $20,000
    city: Irvine, CA
    year: 2015

    To extend the just-completed major field experiment on age discrimination from 11 to 50 states, and to provide evidence on the relationships between direct measures of age discrimination in hiring

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator David Neumark

    To extend the just-completed major field experiment on age discrimination from 11 to 50 states, and to provide evidence on the relationships between direct measures of age discrimination in hiring

    More
  • grantee: Institute for the Future
    amount: $35,000
    city: Palo Alto, CA
    year: 2015

    To launch For Future Reference, a 10-episode podcast series on consumer understanding of the latest advances in science and technology

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Radio
    • Investigator Eri Gentry

    To launch For Future Reference, a 10-episode podcast series on consumer understanding of the latest advances in science and technology

    More
  • grantee: Harvard University
    amount: $124,994
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2015

    To strengthen a new postdoctoral program for interdisciplinary work on data science by including a position for a quantitative social scientist

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Richard McCullough

    To strengthen a new postdoctoral program for interdisciplinary work on data science by including a position for a quantitative social scientist

    More
  • grantee: Duke University
    amount: $108,903
    city: Durham, NC
    year: 2015

    To develop, test, document, and release methods for increasing data quality and decreasing disclosure risk in household datasets for public or restricted use

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Jerome Reiter

    To develop, test, document, and release methods for increasing data quality and decreasing disclosure risk in household datasets for public or restricted use

    More
  • grantee: National Information Standards Organization
    amount: $48,943
    city: Baltimore, MD
    year: 2015

    To partially support a joint international RDA-NISO working group and public symposium on the privacy implications of research data

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Todd Carpenter

    To partially support a joint international RDA-NISO working group and public symposium on the privacy implications of research data

    More
  • grantee: New York University
    amount: $100,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2015

    To partially support an international symposium on the future of Artificial Intelligence research and its impact on society

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Yann LeCun

    To partially support an international symposium on the future of Artificial Intelligence research and its impact on society

    More
  • grantee: Behavioral Science & Policy Association
    amount: $19,700
    city: Durham, NC
    year: 2015

    To promote cooperation between behavioral researchers and policy practitioners

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Behavioral and Regulatory Effects on Decision-making (BRED)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Kate Wessels

    To promote cooperation between behavioral researchers and policy practitioners

    More
  • grantee: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    amount: $20,000
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2015

    To launch an active and diverse study group on behavioral macroeconomics

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Behavioral and Regulatory Effects on Decision-making (BRED)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Michael Woodford

    To launch an active and diverse study group on behavioral macroeconomics

    More
  • grantee: University College London
    amount: $50,000
    city: London, United Kingdom
    year: 2015

    To launch a carefully curated and edited blog that will make insights from microeconomic research more widely and popularly accessible

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Richard Blundell

    To launch a carefully curated and edited blog that will make insights from microeconomic research more widely and popularly accessible

    More
  • grantee: International Energy Program Evaluation Conference
    amount: $20,000
    city: Chatham, MA
    year: 2015

    To continue in accelerating and advancing the profession of energy evaluation by enabling graduate students to attend the 2016 IEPPEC Conference at no charge

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Charles Michaelis

    To continue in accelerating and advancing the profession of energy evaluation by enabling graduate students to attend the 2016 IEPPEC Conference at no charge

    More
  • grantee: Brave New Software
    amount: $20,000
    city: Los Angeles, CA
    year: 2015

    To develop a better understanding of the success and sustainability of selected Sloan-funded free/open source software projects

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator James Vasile

    To develop a better understanding of the success and sustainability of selected Sloan-funded free/open source software projects

    More
  • grantee: The Graduate Center of The City University of New York
    amount: $15,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2015

    To support the development of the City University of New York Digital History Archive

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Andrea Vasquez

    To support the development of the City University of New York Digital History Archive

    More
  • grantee: University of Pittsburgh
    amount: $123,728
    city: Pittsburgh, PA
    year: 2015

    To support the adoption of active curation platforms by Association for Computing Machinery publishing systems

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Bruce Childers

    To support the adoption of active curation platforms by Association for Computing Machinery publishing systems

    More
  • grantee: Stanford University
    amount: $114,687
    city: Stanford, CA
    year: 2015

    To explore to what extent health, job demands, and job exposures drive early disability and retirement events for workers in the manufacturing sector

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Mark Cullen

    To explore to what extent health, job demands, and job exposures drive early disability and retirement events for workers in the manufacturing sector

    More
  • grantee: American Association for the Advancement of Science
    amount: $105,258
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2015

    To support a workshop of ~30 research university teams to improve the recruitment, retention, and success of URM graduate students in STEM by studying strategies employed by peer institutions in the context of the team’s own challenges and aims

    • Program Higher Education
    • Initiative Professional Advancement of Underrepresented Groups
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Shirley Malcom

    To support a workshop of ~30 research university teams to improve the recruitment, retention, and success of URM graduate students in STEM by studying strategies employed by peer institutions in the context of the team’s own challenges and aims

    More
  • grantee: WNET
    amount: $100,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2015

    To  produce at least three annual Sloan-related science, technology, and economics themed episodes of The Open Mind for two years and to support enhanced outreach and promotion for the show to a national PBS audience

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Television
    • Investigator Alexander Heffner

    To  produce at least three annual Sloan-related science, technology, and economics themed episodes of The Open Mind for two years and to support enhanced outreach and promotion for the show to a national PBS audience

    More
  • grantee: Santa Fe Institute
    amount: $15,000
    city: Santa Fe, NM
    year: 2015

    To organize a workshop addressing the technological, social, and industrial dynamics for innovation and transition in electric power production and delivery

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Cristopher Moore

    To organize a workshop addressing the technological, social, and industrial dynamics for innovation and transition in electric power production and delivery

    More
  • grantee: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
    amount: $75,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2015

    To provide consistent, open-source baseline data on the different environmental characteristics of oils in production and enhance information dissemination through improved visualizations

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Deborah Gordon

    To provide consistent, open-source baseline data on the different environmental characteristics of oils in production and enhance information dissemination through improved visualizations

    More
  • grantee: University of Toronto
    amount: $116,035
    city: Toronto, ON, Canada
    year: 2015

    To support a series of dissemination and engagement activities for Sloan Microbiology of the Built Environment (MoBE) and Chemistry of Indoor Environments programs at Indoor Air 2016, as well as pre- and post-meeting workshops

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Jeffrey Siegel

    To support a series of dissemination and engagement activities for Sloan Microbiology of the Built Environment (MoBE) and Chemistry of Indoor Environments programs at Indoor Air 2016, as well as pre- and post-meeting workshops

    More
  • grantee: University of Michigan
    amount: $72,846
    city: Ann Arbor, MI
    year: 2015

    To undertake qualitative and survey research that explore the factors related to transportation and travel preferences among younger millennial generations

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Thomas Lyon

    To undertake qualitative and survey research that explore the factors related to transportation and travel preferences among younger millennial generations

    More
  • grantee: New York University
    amount: $300,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2015

    To conduct planning activities to develop the CUSP Data User Facility

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Julia Lane

    To conduct planning activities to develop the CUSP Data User Facility

    More
  • grantee: Johns Hopkins University
    amount: $99,955
    city: Baltimore, MD
    year: 2015

    To build an International Deep Earth Water Group for the Deep Carbon Observatory

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Dimitri Sverjensky

    To build an International Deep Earth Water Group for the Deep Carbon Observatory

    More
  • grantee: Natural Heritage Trust
    amount: $25,000
    city: Albany, NY
    year: 2015

    To connect children and families to New York's state parks

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Allen Payne

    To connect children and families to New York's state parks

    More
  • grantee: Stanford University
    amount: $50,000
    city: Stanford, CA
    year: 2015

    To organize a one-day conference at the Program on Energy and Sustainable Development exploring the economic, technological, and regulatory barriers to deploying a suite of emerging low carbon energy technologies and resources at scale

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Frank Wolak

    To organize a one-day conference at the Program on Energy and Sustainable Development exploring the economic, technological, and regulatory barriers to deploying a suite of emerging low carbon energy technologies and resources at scale

    More
  • grantee: Oregon State University
    amount: $119,444
    city: Corvallis, OR
    year: 2015

    To conduct the second field-based summer school of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Frederick Colwell

    To conduct the second field-based summer school of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    More
  • grantee: University of South Florida
    amount: $75,000
    city: Tampa, FL
    year: 2015

    To organize a workshop and develop a research agenda that contributes to a better understanding factors and data related to vehicle miles traveled (VMT)

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Steven Polzin

    To organize a workshop and develop a research agenda that contributes to a better understanding factors and data related to vehicle miles traveled (VMT)

    More
  • grantee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    amount: $45,000
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2015

    To organize a workshop that brings together the leadership and management of university energy economics, technology, and policy research initiatives to plan strategically, discuss best practices, and explore possibilities for improved coordination

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Christopher Knittel

    To organize a workshop that brings together the leadership and management of university energy economics, technology, and policy research initiatives to plan strategically, discuss best practices, and explore possibilities for improved coordination

    More
  • grantee: New America Foundation
    amount: $20,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2015

    To provide partial support for a workshop on encryption and privacy

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Ian Wallace

    To provide partial support for a workshop on encryption and privacy

    More
  • grantee: American Associates of the National Theatre
    amount: $83,938
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2015

    To support the development of a musical about John Snow, the father of epidemiology, and how he helped solve the cholera outbreak in 1850s London

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Theater
    • Investigator Rufus Norris

    To support the development of a musical about John Snow, the father of epidemiology, and how he helped solve the cholera outbreak in 1850s London

    More
  • grantee: Emory University
    amount: $10,165
    city: Atlanta, GA
    year: 2015

    To conduct planning activities to organize a multidisciplinary workshop on the microbiology of legionella in the built environment

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Ruth Berkelman

    To conduct planning activities to organize a multidisciplinary workshop on the microbiology of legionella in the built environment

    More
  • grantee: New York Academy of Sciences
    amount: $12,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2015

    To support dissemination of the proceedings of a conference entitled "Microbes in the City: Mapping the Urban Genome"

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Brooke Grindlinger

    To support dissemination of the proceedings of a conference entitled "Microbes in the City: Mapping the Urban Genome"

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Berkeley
    amount: $124,989
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2015

    To train highly qualified Ph.D. graduate students from across North America in energy and environmental economics topics and techniques through an advanced summer training program

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Maximilian Auffhammer

    To train highly qualified Ph.D. graduate students from across North America in energy and environmental economics topics and techniques through an advanced summer training program

    More
  • grantee: Environmental Defense Fund Inc.
    amount: $600,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2015

    To undertake a scientific research collaboration studying the environmental impacts of shale oil and gas development, focusing on methane losses from natural gas end users

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Initiative Shale Gas
    • Investigator Steven Hamburg

    New drilling technologies and the discovery of significant new natural gas reserves in the U.S. are changing the landscape of energy production. As methane becomes plentiful and cheaper, it is likely to account for an increased share of energy production both in the U.S. and worldwide. Understanding the environmental implications of this shift is an important step for evaluating current and future regulatory regimes and potential policy responses to the “shale revolution.” This grant supports a series of independent research projects coordinated by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) that jointly aim to increase our understanding of the source and quantity of gas leaks by residential, commercial, and industrial end users of methane.  Led by Chief Scientist Steven Hamburg, EDF will bring environmental researchers from Harvard, Purdue, West Virginia University, and the University of Illinois together with engineers from the sensor industry and experts from the U.S. Geological Survey to launch a series of studies designed to measure how much methane gas escapes during its final stop in the distribution pipeline. Since methane is a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, understanding the quantities emitted during end use is a crucial element in evaluating the potential climate impacts of a shift to increased reliance on gas. The work also has the potential to identify especially problematic, high-leak varieties of end use as topics worthy of further scientific attention. Grant funds provide research support, offset administrative costs of the project, and support efforts at synthesis and dissemination.

    To undertake a scientific research collaboration studying the environmental impacts of shale oil and gas development, focusing on methane losses from natural gas end users

    More
  • grantee: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    amount: $724,500
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2015

    To support predoctoral research and training fellowships in energy economics

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Meredith Fowlie

    This grant funds the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) for the implementation of a predoctoral dissertation research fellowship program in energy economics. Fellowship support will provide young scholars currently enrolled in a Ph.D. program in economics the opportunity to deepen their study of issues related to the economics of energy, including energy market design, innovation and productivity in the energy sector, the economics of the fracking boom, electricity transmission and distribution, infrastructure investment, the effects of environmental and other regulation on energy supply and demand, energy efficiency, and the economics of renewable energy.  Fellowships will be for a one-year period with an optional second year of funding contingent on satisfactory progress. Approximately seven fellows are expected to be supported over the grant period. Grant funds will be utilized for student stipends, defraying tuition costs, and permitting travel to professional workshops and conferences.

    To support predoctoral research and training fellowships in energy economics

    More
  • grantee: Resources for the Future, Inc.
    amount: $464,800
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2015

    To train the next generation of researchers and practitioners in energy and environmental economics and policy by launching a postdoctoral researcher program

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Margaret Walls

    Funds from this grant support postdoctoral researchers studying energy, natural resource, and environmental economics at the Washington D.C.–based nonpartisan think tank Resources for the Future (RFF). The RFF program has several important strengths. First, supported postdoctoral researchers will split their time between defined projects and independent research, allowing them the opportunity to build the strong list of publications that is vital to securing a longer-term university position. Second, postdoctoral researchers will have the opportunity to build and expand their professional networks in policy, academic, and private sector circles, providing them with a broader range of subsequent career opportunities. Third, researchers will be trained in valuable skills like grant writing, public speaking, presenting material to policy audiences, and event organization, all of which will be critical for their advancement in their careers. Fourth, RFF will draw on a deep roster of senior in-house scholars and its extended network of affiliated university faculty to provide job placement services and career guidance. Fifth, there are no other federally or philanthropically funded energy and environmental economics postdoctoral researcher positions of this kind, making the RFF program unique in the field. Grant funds will provide fellowship and administrative support to the program for a period of three years.

    To train the next generation of researchers and practitioners in energy and environmental economics and policy by launching a postdoctoral researcher program

    More
  • grantee: Resources for the Future, Inc.
    amount: $608,905
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2015

    To understand the benefits and costs of shale gas and oil development on local communities

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Alan Krupnick

    Funds from this grant support three projects by Resources for the Future (RFF) that aim to improve our understanding of the broad array of local community impacts, both positive and negative, brought on by the extraction of shale gas and oil. In its first project, RFF will develop a comprehensive risk/benefit matrix and community impact framework that will bring together, in one place, a description and assessment of the various impacts that communities may face due to local shale gas extraction, covering everything from increased demands on local water infrastructure to increased traffic and noise. The second project will explore the legal and economic dimensions of private land leasing agreements, exploring the diversity of these agreements and how their differences result in differing consequences for municipalities and their residents. The third project consists of a qualitative exploration of the development of industry-community voluntary practices, protocols, and behaviors that constitute what is often termed the “social license to operate” in different localities. The effort will catalog how individual communities have worked with oil and gas companies to manage the inevitable disruptions caused by local oil and gas extraction. Taken together, the three projects will create a framework that will capture the diversity of local responses to the influx of shale gas developers, provide useful new directions for future scholarship, and give municipalities new resources for how to manage their own local shale gas and oil development.

    To understand the benefits and costs of shale gas and oil development on local communities

    More
  • grantee: Columbia University
    amount: $20,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2015

    To support a meeting on best practices for data publication in the Earth and space sciences

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Kerstin Lehnert

    To support a meeting on best practices for data publication in the Earth and space sciences

    More
  • grantee: George Mason University
    amount: $736,042
    city: Fairfax, VA
    year: 2015

    To support outreach for and adoption of PressForward, a software platform for the editorial curation of online scholarly research products

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Sean Takats

    Funds from this grant support the continued development and expansion of PressForward, a new software platform that aims to speed the dissemination of scholarship by allowing researchers to quickly and easily aggregate online articles, white papers, reports, and blog posts into online digital journals. Built atop the powerful and popular WordPress platform, PressForward enables researchers to impose structure on the diverse variety of scholarly materials proliferating on the web, pulling related materials together that are currently scattered across different preprint servers, personal blogs, and institutional archives.   Over the next three years, grant funds will help the PressForward team, headquartered at the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University, continue the development of the platform. Planned activities include working with institutional partners to launch 12 new digital projects powered by the platform, outreach to build and strengthen the growing PressForward user base, and development of plans for long-term fiscal sustainability.

    To support outreach for and adoption of PressForward, a software platform for the editorial curation of online scholarly research products

    More
  • grantee: Association of Research Libraries
    amount: $600,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2015

    To support the scaling, data quality, and incorporation into university workflows of SHARE, a system for the tracking of research release events across publishers and repositories

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Elliott Shore

    This grant funds the continued development of SHARE, an open access database and service that links together university-based data repositories in an effort to make scholarly research widely accessible, discoverable, and reusable. Developed in collaboration between the Association of Research Libraries and the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities, SHARE includes not only a searchable database of research, but also a scholarly research notification service that allows users to keep abreast of new developments in scholarship, for example, when a relevant new white paper is uploaded by a scholar they are following, an important dataset is updated, or a previously unpublished study is published. Funds from this grant will support the continued development and expansion of the SHARE platform, including efforts to increase the number of participating data providers, integration of SHARE into the diverse workflows of member institutions, and the cleaning and normalizing of the, oft-messy, metadata that powers the SHARE search algorithms.

    To support the scaling, data quality, and incorporation into university workflows of SHARE, a system for the tracking of research release events across publishers and repositories

    More
  • grantee: American Association for the Advancement of Science
    amount: $772,955
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2015

    To promote the professionalization and institutionalization of the role of the community engagement manager in scientific societies and large-scale research collaborations

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Joshua Freeman

    Community engagement managers are increasingly seen as vital and irreplaceable elements for the smooth functioning of healthy online communities. Though it is a new field, community engagement has matured quickly, with a growing body of common methods and best practices. Individuals playing this role in scientific contexts, however, are often isolated from this community of practice, and left to trial and error to figure out how to be most effective. This grant supports a Community Engagement Fellowship program at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) for a network of community engagement managers that will connect several scientific fields. The Fellows will be based in a combination of AAAS-affiliated scholarly societies and large multidisciplinary collaborations, which will build capacity in scientific organizations. In addition, fellows will be brought together for annual training boot camps and monthly professional development webinars, allowing them to share ideas, common challenges, and best practices. Grant funds support approximately half of the planned 18 fellows of the initial cohort, with additional funds provided to offset the costs of outreach, fellow selection, and program administration.

    To promote the professionalization and institutionalization of the role of the community engagement manager in scientific societies and large-scale research collaborations

    More
  • grantee: Yale University
    amount: $256,641
    city: New Haven, CT
    year: 2015

    To conduct a pilot study to determine how microbial and chemical emissions from commercial air conditioners impact the microbiome of occupied spaces

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Jordan Peccia

    Air conditioning (AC) systems cool and dehumidify air. The process deposits moisture on the cooling coils, creating an environment conducive to microbial growth. We know very little, however, about the microbes that grow on AC units or how these microbes affect and interact with the microbial populations of the buildings they cool. This grant supports Jordan Peccia, associate professor of environmental engineering at Yale, who will lead a multidisciplinary team in a pilot study examining how the microbial and chemical emissions of commercial air conditioning units impact the microbiome of occupied spaces. Over two years, Peccia and his team will characterize the bacterial and fungal communities present on the cooling coil surfaces of commercial air conditioners, estimate the microbial volatile organic compound (MVOC) emission rates from commercial AC units, and quantify the influence that AC emissions have on the indoor air and surface microbiome of occupied spaces. The team will initially sample 40 different commercial air conditioning units and use these samples to examine how microbial population structure is affected by a host of environmental variables, including outdoor climate, coil moisture, and coil temperature. They will then measure AC microbial emission rates and the characteristics of emitted microbes to study how these correlate with the surface and air microbiome composition in the buildings these units cool.

    To conduct a pilot study to determine how microbial and chemical emissions from commercial air conditioners impact the microbiome of occupied spaces

    More
  • grantee: Boston University
    amount: $704,982
    city: Boston, MA
    year: 2015

    To measure the work disincentives facing older Americans arising from America’s major fiscal programs and provisions

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Laurence Kotlikoff

    This grant funds a study by Lawrence Kotlikoff of Boston University and Alan Auerbach of the University of California, Berkeley that will measure the work disincentives facing older Americans arising from our country’s almost 40 major fiscal programs and provisions. Kotlikoff and Auerbach will study the combined effects of all these programs to understand the marginal tax rate on income earned by older workers at different ages and to assess their combined potential to limit the work and incomes of the elderly. Using detailed data from several public datasets and advanced financial analysis software, the research team will test several hypotheses, including whether there are high median net marginal tax rates on the labor supply of the elderly at all levels of remaining lifetime resources; whether there exists a large dispersion in net marginal tax rates even holding remaining resources fixed, whether there are significant increases in sustainable living standards associated with the elderly working longer, and whether major impacts of the fiscal system on the elderly’s labor supply can be reduced with revenue-neutral fiscal reforms that preserve fiscal progressivity.

    To measure the work disincentives facing older Americans arising from America’s major fiscal programs and provisions

    More
  • grantee: University of Aberdeen Foundation, Inc.
    amount: $335,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2015

    To improve representation of the built environment fungi in the UNITE, an open access database for molecular identification of fungi

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Andrew Taylor

    This grant supports an initiative by Andy Taylor at the University of Aberdeen, in collaboration with Urmas Kхljalg at the University of Tartu in Estonia, that aims to significantly expand the UNITE database, a key resource used by mycologists in the genomic identification of fungi. The UNITE database contains genetic sequences of known fungi, which allows researchers to identify unknown fungi collected at field sites by matching the genetic sequences of collected samples to the master samples in the database. Unfortunately, the UNITE database lacks reliable standard sequence data on many of the fungi commonly found in indoor and built environments, which deprives researchers working on the microbiology of the built environment of a powerful tool for taxonomic identification. Over the next two years, Taylor and Kхljalg will target and sequence previously unsequenced fungal strains relevant to human and built environments, hold two sequence annotation workshops that aim to improve the quality of available sequence data, and develop metadata standards and protocols that will enable better inter-database comparison of collected fungal data.

    To improve representation of the built environment fungi in the UNITE, an open access database for molecular identification of fungi

    More
  • grantee: Columbia University
    amount: $450,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2015

    To investigate how mental stimulation through different types of activities affects cognitive performance in later life and to determine the unique and overlapping contributions of these activities

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Ursula Staudinger

    Studies show that cognitive abilities tend to decline postretirement, and that continuation of work or work-like activity can slow cognitive decline. What is less well understood, however, is exactly which activities are most conducive to maintaining cognitive productivity. This grant funds efforts by Ursula Staudinger, director of the Columbia University Center on Aging, to understand whether and to what degree activities that involve novel information processing play a role in arresting cognitive decline.   Combining aspects of three well-respected longitudinal studies, the Health and Retirement Study, the Midlife in America Study, and the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, Staudinger and her team will catalog the work and leisure activities of respondents and characterize the ways in which these activities involve the processing of new information. Comparing these activities with health data on cognitive decline will then permit an estimation of the role novel processing plays in sustaining mental productivity. The resulting research promises to provide important new evidence that will help us better understand how to optimize cognitive aging and identify the individuals or groups whose activity patterns place them at particular risk for cognitive decline.

    To investigate how mental stimulation through different types of activities affects cognitive performance in later life and to determine the unique and overlapping contributions of these activities

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Los Angeles
    amount: $356,199
    city: Los Angeles, CA
    year: 2015

    To provide information on the labor market consequences for adult daughters and sons providing elder care to their aging parents

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Kathleen McGarry

    This grant funds research by UCLA economist Kathleen McGarry that examines how providing eldercare affects the labor market activities of adult sons and daughters. Using descriptive analyses, multivariate regressions, and structural modeling on data drawn from the longitudinal Health and Retirement Study, McGarry and her team will study changes in employment, hours worked, wages, and benefits (including health insurance and pension wealth) of adult caregivers in order to assess how caregiving activities affect financial well-being in later life. They will also draw comparisons across genders between the types of care, the number of hours of care, and the effect on labor market behaviors. Of particular interest is whether having a parent in need increases the labor market attachment of men while decreasing the labor force attachment of women. The experimental sample will have over 3,000 couples in which both spouses have living parents, allowing the UCLA team to investigate the transfer of resources to a husband’s parents compared to a wife’s parents. Preliminary analyses for the provision of parental assistance by married couples suggests that greater financial transfers flow to the husband’s parents and greater time transfers to the wife’s parents. There are several potential explanations for this pattern—including differences in the opportunity cost of time for the husband and wife, household bargaining models, and preference for providing care to a parent of the same gender as the adult child. Additional modeling work will allow the team to simulate the effects of various policy measures on caregiving and labor market outcomes, including public financial support for caregivers and low-cost long-term care insurance. The work promises to increase our understanding of the economics of marriage and the family and its implications for the older work force.

    To provide information on the labor market consequences for adult daughters and sons providing elder care to their aging parents

    More
  • grantee: Columbia University
    amount: $467,837
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2015

    To provide working journalists with coherent, accessible current research on working longer as a central strategy toward making population aging into an opportunity rather than an individual and societal crisis

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Ruth Finkelstein

    The Age Boom Academy at the Columbia Aging Center is a well-respected forum for learning about up-to-date scholarly research regarding the economic, social, and health issues raised by increased longevity. This grant provides three years of support to the Academy to house and develop a platform for improving journalistic understanding of the aging of the U.S. work force. With Sloan support, the Academy will hold a yearly workshop that brings journalists together with leading researchers to discuss the best current scientific thinking about issues related to aging and work. Issues to be addressed include reimagining work and retirement transitions; health expectancy, life expectancy, and work trajectories; and aging and human capital investment. At least 60 journalists are expected to attend the yearly academies, where they will be able to ask questions, develop relationships with scientists in the field, and learn about new and groundbreaking research. The result will be a press corps more empowered to cover issues related to the aging work force.

    To provide working journalists with coherent, accessible current research on working longer as a central strategy toward making population aging into an opportunity rather than an individual and societal crisis

    More
  • grantee: San Francisco Film Society
    amount: $417,500
    city: San Francisco, CA
    year: 2015

    To nurture, develop, and champion films that explore scientific or technological themes and characters

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Noah Cowan

    This grant provides two years of funding for a series of initiatives by SSFILM to support and nurture films and filmmakers that tackle scientific or technological themes or feature scientists, mathematicians, or engineers as major characters. Three distinct but interrelated activities are supported. The first is a filmmaker fund for screenwriters working on science and technology films, with one winning screenwriter the first year and two in the second. Each filmmaker will receive a $35,000 grant and a two-month residency at the Film House, SSFILMS’s newly built artist residency facility. In addition to residency, supported screenwriters will have their work presented in staged readings both at the Festival and at other events around the country. Second, SSFILM will host an annual film prize for the best science- or technology-themed film submitted. Selected by an independent panel of filmmakers and scientists, the winning film will be announced in December at a high-profile screening event aimed at attracting critical notice. Third, SFFILMwill partner with The Black List, an influential annual industry survey of the best unproduced screenplays, to send a Sloan-supported screenwriter to its coveted annual screenwriting workshop. The collection of activities represents an exciting new partnership for the Sloan Film Festival program, which builds bridges between the film industry and Silicon Valley’s active and energetic science and technology culture.

    To nurture, develop, and champion films that explore scientific or technological themes and characters

    More
  • grantee: Stanford University
    amount: $473,248
    city: Stanford, CA
    year: 2015

    To study the effects of the Affordable Care Act on Older Workers’ Labor Market Outcomes

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Mark Duggan

    The Affordable Care Act (ACA) represents the largest reform to the U.S. health care system since the 1965 introduction of Medicare and Medicaid. Questions arise as to the possible effects of this significant health care change on the labor market behavior of near-elderly workers (workers aged 59 to 64, who are not yet eligible for Medicare). This grant supports a study by Mark Duggan and his colleague Gopi Shah Goda that examines the likely effects of the ACA on labor outcomes for these near elderly. Duggan and Goda will address several questions about the ACA, including how the ACA affects the employment, labor force participation, self-employment, wages, hours of work, and related labor market outcomes of older workers; which provisions of the ACA contribute to the estimated effects; and how these effects vary over time and by gender, race, ethnicity, marital status, educational attainment, and health.

    To study the effects of the Affordable Care Act on Older Workers’ Labor Market Outcomes

    More
  • grantee: Carnegie Mellon University
    amount: $292,500
    city: Pittsburgh, PA
    year: 2015

    To encourage top film students to write screenplays about science and technology

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Robert Handel

    This grant provides continued support for a program at the Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama (CMU) that exposes top dramatic writing students to science and technology and awards prizes to student screenwriters who write science- or technology-themed scripts. The CMU program includes a fall symposium that brings scientists to the drama school to introduce students to recent developments in a variety of scientific disciplines; a year-long screenwriting workshop that meets weekly and focuses on the challenges and opportunities posed by incorporating science into dramatic or comedic narratives, a mentorship program that pairs film students with working scientists to help them depict science accurately in their work, an annual screenwriting competition that awards $17,500 to the two best science-themed scripts submitted, and yearly showcases in Los Angeles and New York that bring student filmmakers into contact with leading producers, directors, and distributors in the film and television industry. Grant funds provide core support for these activities for another two years.

    To encourage top film students to write screenplays about science and technology

    More
  • grantee: Boston College
    amount: $432,630
    city: Chestnut Hill, MA
    year: 2015

    To build a robust and sustainable multi-disciplinary research network on aging and work

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Jacquelyn James

    Funds from this grant provide three years of support to the Boston College Center on Aging & Work for the operation and expansion of a multidisciplinary research network that links together scholars working on issues related to the aging work force. To date, nearly 90 scholars from 15 disciplines across 14 countries have joined the network, sharing the latest news, research results, data, and ideas for further scholarship. Grant funds will support expansion of the network’s membership to 150 members globally, a survey to track member priorities, the launch of a summer research institute in 2016, a one-day member conference to be held at the annual meeting of the 2017 Gerontological Society of America, and the development of a long-term sustainability plan for the network.

    To build a robust and sustainable multi-disciplinary research network on aging and work

    More
  • grantee: Tribeca Film Institute
    amount: $800,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2015

    To build on the TFI Sloan Filmmaker Fund's success and to raise the profile of Sloan screenings, readings, and panels at the Tribeca Film Festival and year-round

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Anna Ponder

    The grant provides two years of continued support for a partnership with the Tribeca Film Institute in its continuing efforts to highlight excellent high-quality narrative films with scientific and technological themes. The TFI/Sloan Filmmaker Fund supports science-themed film projects in a wide variety of ways, giving grants of between $15,000 and $25,000 for screenplay development, optioning of literary material for adaption, and preproduction expenses like casting or location scouting. Additional postproduction grants are also available for science-themed projects, including funds for sound editing, negative cutting, and printmaking.  In addition to grants to offset pre- and postproduction expenses, supported filmmakers receive help from scientific and industry advisors, to shepherd the project through production, and are mentored by TFI’s insiders. In addition to the TFI Filmmaker Fund, TFI hosts several science-themed events at the annual Tribeca Film Festival, including a staged reading of screenplays by supported artists, a retrospective screening of a classic science-themed movie and panel discussion of the film by scientists and industry professionals, and an industry reception that brings supported filmmakers together with leading Hollywood executives and distributors.

    To build on the TFI Sloan Filmmaker Fund's success and to raise the profile of Sloan screenings, readings, and panels at the Tribeca Film Festival and year-round

    More
  • grantee: Sundance Institute
    amount: $500,000
    city: Beverly Hills, CA
    year: 2015

    To support a science and technology film program at the nation's pre-eminent independent film center that includes screenwriting fellowships, feature film prizes, science and film panels, and associated outreach

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Michelle Satter

    Funds from this grant provide two years of continued support for the Sundance Institute to promote the production and distribution of high-quality narrative films with scientific or technological themes or characters. The Institute’s efforts, which are primarily centered around the influential Sundance Film Festival, include five separate components: A commissioning fellowship of $25,000 to the screenwriter of a promising early-stage film project to be used to help usher the script toward production. An episodic story fellowship of $10,000 to the scriptwriter of a promising early-stage television project to be used to help usher the project toward completion. A lab fellowship, which allows the director of a science-themed film project to participate in the Sundance Film Festival’s prestigious production lab for up and coming filmmakers. A feature film prize, awarded annually at the Sundance Film Festival for the best science or technology themed film submitted to the festival. A Science-in-Film forum held annually at the Sundance Film Festival that brings independent filmmakers together with working scientists in a moderated panel discussion about the opportunities and challenges posed by incorporating scientific and technological themes into narrative storytelling. Fellowships include year-long support from the Sundance Institute, as well as dedicated stipends to enable filmmakers to hire scientific advisors for their projects.

    To support a science and technology film program at the nation's pre-eminent independent film center that includes screenwriting fellowships, feature film prizes, science and film panels, and associated outreach

    More
  • grantee: Urban Institute
    amount: $474,087
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2015

    To assess recent trends in Medicare enrollees’ access to physician services at the state and local level and to study the implications for labor supply decisions at older ages

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Fredric Blavin

    A number of economic studies have found that workers with access to private retiree health insurance are much more likely to retire than are their counterparts without such access who must rely entirely on Medicare. This grant to the Urban Institute supports a project that looks at the relationship between health insurance and decisions to extend work lives or to retire. Drawing on data from physician and household surveys, this project will address a number of important issues, including recent trends in physicians’ acceptance of Medicare patients, how Medicare beneficiaries’ access to care differs from those with private insurance, how these differences correlate with various factors like physician specialty, and whether these differences affect retirement decisions. Findings will shed important new light on the relative attractiveness of Medicare relative to private health insurance and the extent to which that comparison affects the exit of older workers from the labor market.

    To assess recent trends in Medicare enrollees’ access to physician services at the state and local level and to study the implications for labor supply decisions at older ages

    More
  • grantee: Coolidge Corner Theatre Foundation
    amount: $748,392
    city: Brookline, MA
    year: 2015

    To support the expansion of Coolidge Corner Theatre's Science on Screen program to art house cinemas nationwide

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Katherine Tallman

    Independent and arthouse cinemas participating in the Science on Screen program pair screenings of classic, cult, or documentary films with lively introductions by working scientists who discuss ways in which the film touches on science, technology, engineering, or mathematics.  Past offerings have included a screening of the 1980s slapstick comedy Airplane! paired with a discussion of automation in aviation, a screening of Fight Club paired with a discussion of the psychology of aggression, and a screening of Soylent Green paired with a discussion of the future of the global food supply. The program is headed by Cambridge’s Coolidge Corner Theater (CCT), which promotes the program within the arthouse cinema community, makes suggestions for entertaining film/discussion pairings, and administers small grants to participating theaters to promote screenings and recruit local scientists. In addition, CCT organizes a national “Science on Screen day” when all participating theaters hold coordinated screenings, and gives an annual presentation at the Arthouse Convergence, an industry gathering of more than 600 arthouse and independent cinemas. Funds from this grant provide two years of continued support for the Science on Screen program, including funds to expand the number of participating theaters and improve the program’s web presence.

    To support the expansion of Coolidge Corner Theatre's Science on Screen program to art house cinemas nationwide

    More
  • grantee: Carnegie Mellon University
    amount: $333,090
    city: Pittsburgh, PA
    year: 2015

    To investigate how the availability and deployment of privacy enhancing technologies affect consumer behavior and welfare

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Behavioral and Regulatory Effects on Decision-making (BRED)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Alessandro Acquisti

    This grant funds efforts by Allessandro Acquisti at Carnegie Mellon University to examine, through laboratory, online, and field experiments, how Privacy Enhancing Technology (PET) can affect consumer behavior and welfare. Examples of PET tools include ad blockers like Ghostery, surveillance blockers like Tor, and cookie blockers like Beef Taco. Acquisti and his team will have PET software installed on the computers of some experimental subjects and then observe how their online behavior changes relative to a control group. They will then measure and analyze the subsequent differences in consumer behavior, like purchases or sites visited, as well as changes in the prices, products, or search results offered by websites and search engines to the two groups. The work promises to provide valuable new data on how concerns about privacy shape the way we conduct our lives online.

    To investigate how the availability and deployment of privacy enhancing technologies affect consumer behavior and welfare

    More
  • grantee: University of Michigan
    amount: $486,501
    city: Ann Arbor, MI
    year: 2015

    To explore the relationship between behavioral nudges and intrinsic motivation by conducting field experiments

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Behavioral and Regulatory Effects on Decision-making (BRED)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Brian Jacob

    This grant funds research by University of Michigan economist and professor of education Brian Jacob, who has designed a randomized controlled trial to study the effects of behavioral interventions on enrollment in the Teacher Loan Forgiveness (TLF) program. The TLF is a federal initiative that forgives up to $17,500 in student loans to teachers who teach for five years in a school serving students from low-income families.  The complicated, multistage qualification process for the program offers a unique opportunity to test how various interventions might work, by randomly assigning applicants to different groups during the process and subjecting them to slightly different form designs, requirements, defaults, and choice architectures. The TLF thus serves as an excellent opportunity to study how to design federal benefits programs in ways that maximize their uptake. Funds from this grant will support Jacob and his research team as they conduct this two-year study.

    To explore the relationship between behavioral nudges and intrinsic motivation by conducting field experiments

    More
  • grantee: The University of Chicago
    amount: $580,003
    city: Chicago, IL
    year: 2015

    To study experimentally the welfare economics of nudging and other behavioral interventions

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Behavioral and Regulatory Effects on Decision-making (BRED)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator John List

    Behavioral economists tout examples of how small changes in the way options are presented can have large effects on the decisions people make. The term “nudging” refers to such “choice architecture” modifications that help, but do not force, people to behave more in line with how they wish they could. To count as a nudge, the behavioral intervention should be easy and inexpensive to disregard. So, for example, putting fruit at eye level is a nudge; banning junk food is not. Large-scale experiments, both by academics and by governments, have shown that nudging can help people eat better, reduce their energy consumption, or save more for retirement. These are relatively straightforward applications, though. Others raise harder questions about who ultimately benefits, who loses, and by how much. For example, do people like being nudged? Should people like being nudged? All things considered, when does nudging actually make society better off? Does it matter much if people know they are being nudged? This grant funds a series of experiments by University of Chicago economist John List to examine these and related issues. List’s team has designed two large randomized controlled trials with almost 50,000 subjects in total, one focused on energy conservation and another on food choices. Along with measuring the direct effects of nudges, List will rigorously examine participants’ decisions to opt in or out of being nudged, allowing him to estimate any associated welfare losses experienced by consumers.

    To study experimentally the welfare economics of nudging and other behavioral interventions

    More
  • grantee: Harvard University
    amount: $286,695
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2015

    To fashion fundamental concepts and models for behavioral economics based on theories of context-dependent choice

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Behavioral and Regulatory Effects on Decision-making (BRED)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Andrei Shleifer

    Behavioral economics catalogs examples of how people fail to act as naпve economic models say they should. In theory, such examples should lead to revised models of economic behavior that are more sophisticated, nuanced, and accurate. These have been slow in coming. To date, behavioral economists have been more concerned with classifications and applications than with foundations, representations, or explanations. Courses and textbooks tend to take up one anomaly or bias after another, without much of a conceptual or analytic framework to offer. Funds from this grant support a project by Harvard economist Andrei Shleifer to develop a theoretical framework that can systematically accommodate many of the anomalous behaviors detected by behavioral economists. Shleifer will attempt to do this through further development of “salience theory,” which hypothesizes that certain facts or pieces of information can appear more salient or command more attention at the moment of decision. These salient facts are then overweighted by decision-makers relative to their nonsalient cousins, causing decision-makers to deviate from the rational behavior predicted by, say, expected utility theory. Grant funds will support Shleifer as he continues to develop salience theory and use it to incorporate the diverse insights of behavioral economics into satisfying, predictive models of human economic behavior. Topics to be explored include the role stereotypes and generalization play in decision-making, how being surprised affects salience, and how attitudes about what is or is not normal shape what people pay attention to.

    To fashion fundamental concepts and models for behavioral economics based on theories of context-dependent choice

    More
  • grantee: Science Festival Foundation
    amount: $1,350,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2015

    To support the production and execution of the annual World Science Festival and related year-round live and digital activities in 2016, 2017, and 2018

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program New Media
    • Investigator Tracy Day

    Launched in 2008 with the help of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the World Science Festival is perhaps the world’s premiere science festival, bringing first class scientists from all over the globe to New York City to lead the public in a weeklong series of panels, presentations, and events in celebration of all that is fun and fascinating about science. More than 50 panels and events are targeted at all ages and education levels, with recent panels devoted to such diverse topics as the science and history of beer-making, the use of electrical stimulation to improve cognitive function, and the effects of zero gravity environments on the human body. To increase its reach beyond New York City, the festival produces online and video segments and education material for science teachers to incorporate into their curricula. Funds from this grant provide continued support to the World Science Festival for another three years.

    To support the production and execution of the annual World Science Festival and related year-round live and digital activities in 2016, 2017, and 2018

    More
  • grantee: Loyola University Chicago
    amount: $207,000
    city: Chicago, IL
    year: 2015

    To catalogue the use of datasets and methodologies in empirical economic research publications

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Svetlozar Nestorov

    Empirical articles and the data they use have not always been carefully connected. That makes it hard to replicate findings, to reuse data, or to build on previous work rather than just duplicating it. This grants supports the development and expansion of a new platform, DUOS (Dataset-Utilization Open Search), that links existing papers with the standard datasets and methodologies they use. Conceived by Svetlozar Nestorov of Loyola University, the system allows researchers, graduate students, and policymakers to find the published results of performing particular kinds of calculations on particular sets of survey data. Nestorov’s initial work has focused on the Current Population Survey, the primary source of labor force statistics in the United States. Student research assistants have manually compiled hundreds of linkages between the survey and the published academic literature. This information constitutes a training set for machine-learning algorithms that, when sufficiently developed, will be able to scan the online literature and extract links automatically. Grant funds support the continuation of Nestorov’s work and its expansion to other datasets, including the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) run by the U.S. Census, and the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) funded by NSF. Once developed, tested, and refined, Nestorov’s machine-learning software for automating DUOS operations will be made freely available for use in fields besides economics.

    To catalogue the use of datasets and methodologies in empirical economic research publications

    More
  • grantee: Cell Motion Laboratories, Inc.
    amount: $800,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2015

    To support expansion of the BioBus and BioBase STEM education programs in Harlem

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Benjamin Dubin-Thaler

    The BioBus is a fully mobile research lab that visit schools and public science events in New York City. Outfitted with state-of-the-art microscopes and run by a diverse team of young scientists, the BioBus is a mobile science field trip where students can use a phase-contrast video microscope to make movies of crawling amoeba, use a scanning electron microscope to image a fly eye, or use a fluorescing microscope to see glowing, streaming plant chloroplast. In 2014, the BioBus visited 88 K-12 schools in New York City, bringing high-quality, engaging education to some 16,000 students, 57 percent of whom were African-American or Latino. Funds from this grant support the continued operation and expansion of BioBus. Over the next three years, Cell Motion Laboratories, the parent organization of the BioBus, will build another BioBus mobile lab and, in partnership with Columbia University, build a “BioBase” community lab in Harlem, which will allow students to continue their educational experiences once the BioBus has moved locations, and expand its educational offerings to underserved students in Harlem.

    To support expansion of the BioBus and BioBase STEM education programs in Harlem

    More
  • grantee: CUNY TV Foundation
    amount: $481,100
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2015

    To continue production of the series "Science Goes to the Movies" so there are enough episodes to initiate national distribution

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Television
    • Investigator Robert Isaacson

    Science Goes to the Movies is a new public television program produced by the CUNY TV Foundation that reviews current movies and television shows from a scientific perspective. Topics discussed in early episodes include visualizing black holes, Birdman and the prevalence of hallucinations, and depictions of women scientists in the Big Bang Theory. Hosted by neuroscientist Heather Belin and journalist Faith Sailie, Science Goes to the Movies premiered in February 2015 and is reaching a growing audience through integrated use of broadcast, cable, web, and mobile platforms and has performed well in its native market of New York City. Funds from this grant provide production support for the show as it explores possible distribution to a national audience through PBS’s Executive Programming Service, bringing the series to half the PBS stations in the country with a net audience of more than a million viewers.

    To continue production of the series "Science Goes to the Movies" so there are enough episodes to initiate national distribution

    More
  • grantee: Open Knowledge Foundation
    amount: $690,575
    city: Cambridge, United Kingdom
    year: 2015

    To reduce friction in the research process through the development and broad implementation of a lightweight standard for packaging data

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Rufus Pollock

    The basic process of moving large tabular data from one environment to another is fraught with issues. Ambiguous column headings and messy metadata can make it difficult and time consuming to understand exactly what a data file contains. As researchers move data from repository to research tool (and often through a series of research tools), the opportunities for error proliferate. Rufus Pollock of the Open Knowledge Foundation has developed a lightweight approach to structuring metadata about tabular datasets. With the Pollock approach, tabular datasets are packaged and moved with files that describe the data—datatypes, formatting, source, etc.—allowing research tools like Matlab, Excel, and Stata to appropriately parse the data inside. He describes this “data package” model as the equivalent to a shipping container for data, making it easier to standardize the entire logistics process. Funds from this grant continue development of the Pollock’s “data package” standard. Funded activities include the development of validators and extensions that would make it easy to export and import data packages from standard research tools (essentially adding new “Save As” and “Open” options); outreach to specific user communities to model use of the specification for individual disciplinary communities; the launch of several pilot projects integrating the data package model into existing user workflows; and building a broader development community around the need for better tools for efficient and trusted storage, transport, and analysis of large tabular data.

    To reduce friction in the research process through the development and broad implementation of a lightweight standard for packaging data

    More
  • grantee: Council on Library and Information Resources
    amount: $738,756
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2015

    To support data and software curation postdoctoral fellowships, in order to develop emerging leaders in the field and encourage permanent staffing solutions within academic libraries

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Charles Henry

    This grant provides partial funding for eight postdoctoral fellowships in Data Curation for the Sciences and Social Sciences. Though the fellowship program is administered by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR), fellows are appointed at host institutions, where they work on digital initiatives that marshal a university’s technical, archival, and library resources in service to the data curation and management needs of the institution’s researchers.  Of the eight fellowships supported, four will focus on software curation, the growing archival field that seeks to preserve the software programs and platforms developed for and as a result of scientific research.  In addition to providing fellowship support, grant funds will expand the fellowship program to include improved education and training on software curation, both among the fellows and at participating host institutions.

    To support data and software curation postdoctoral fellowships, in order to develop emerging leaders in the field and encourage permanent staffing solutions within academic libraries

    More
  • grantee: Harvard University
    amount: $751,941
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2015

    To facilitate social science research on large-scale datasets by expanding the capabilities of Dataverse repository software

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Gary King

    There are currently no academic social science repositories that can routinely handle terabytes of data. This despite the fact that the rise of the Internet and new sensing technologies are creating large new datasets of potential interest to social scientists, like phone usage data or geospatial social media data. This grant supports efforts by Gary King at Harvard University to expand the popular Dataverse platform so that it becomes the first data archiving and management application capable of handling social science data at the terabyte scale. Fully open source, Dataverse is a decentralized web application that allows individual institutions to download and run their own instances. Universities and research labs can manage their data easily while at the same time configuring the system to meet their own needs and comply with their own institutional policies. Funds from this grant will fund the technical development of the Dataverse platform to accommodate the immense logistical and resource challenges posed by “big data” datasets, expanding the power of an increasingly important resource for social scientists everywhere.

    To facilitate social science research on large-scale datasets by expanding the capabilities of Dataverse repository software

    More
  • grantee: New York Genome Center, Inc.
    amount: $3,000,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2015

    To strengthen the bioinformatics community in New York City

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Michael Zody

    Funds from this grant provide continued operating support to the New York Genome Center (NYGC) in its efforts to strengthen and diversify the bioinformatics community in New York City. Sloan funds will support the NYGC’s plans to develop new infrastructure, methods, and training that it expects will catalyze research insights, empower researchers with new bioinformatics capabilities, and continue to solidify New York City as a genomics and life sciences hub. Over the next three years, the NYGC will continue to develop its bioinformatics capabilities in support of its member institutions, develop a shared computing facility with access to public data sets and state-of-the-art data analysis pipelines, craft new algorithms and techniques in bioinformatics, and train biological and medical researchers in core bioinformatics skills through training courses and in-person and virtual educational sessions. Expected outputs include peer-reviewed publications, updated software packages, a bioinformatics commons and genomic data warehouse, and the training of 50 researchers per year.

    To strengthen the bioinformatics community in New York City

    More
  • grantee: Manhattan Theatre Club
    amount: $600,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2015

    To support the MTC/Sloan Initiative commissioning, developing, and producing new science and technology plays

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Theater
    • Investigator Elizabeth Rothman

    This grant continues support of an initiative by the Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) to commission, develop, and produce new science- and technology-themed plays. Over the next three years, MTC plans to commission 15 science-themed plays from both emerging and established playwrights, provide dramaturgical support to commissioned artists, hold in-house readings of all completed scripts, stage three public readings, and produce one science-themed play at the theater’s 47th Street mainstage. Plays are commissioned and scripts selected for production in consultation with an independent advisory board composed of distinguished working scientists. Commissioned playwrights receive between $10,000 and $20,000 for their work.

    To support the MTC/Sloan Initiative commissioning, developing, and producing new science and technology plays

    More
  • grantee: Rockefeller University
    amount: $1,500,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2015

    To support Jesse Ausubel's continued leadership on behalf of the Sloan Foundation of the Deep Carbon Observatory program initiated in 2009

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Jesse Ausubel

    Funds from this grant continue support for Jesse H. Ausubel, Director of Rockefeller University’s Program for the Human Environment, in his role as the Sloan Foundation’s primary liaison to the Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO).  As Sloan’s representative at the DCO, Ausubel serves as a member of the DCO leadership, elicits grant proposals in support of the DCO’s four research communities, oversees progress and reporting on the Foundation’s approximately 30 active DCO grants, represents the Foundation’s policies, priorities, concerns, and aspirations to the DCO leadership, and prepares periodic reports to the Foundation on the DCO’s progress towards its decadal goals.  Grant funds provide primary salary and administrative support for Ausubel and his team’s activities through the anticipated completion of the DCO in 2019, where his work will focus on managing important late-stage DCO projects related to modeling and visualization, intellectual synthesis of DCO discoveries, dissemination of DCO results, and crafting stable institutional and intellectual legacies for the program after Foundation support ends in 2019.  

    To support Jesse Ausubel's continued leadership on behalf of the Sloan Foundation of the Deep Carbon Observatory program initiated in 2009

    More
  • grantee: Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris
    amount: $300,150
    city: Paris, France
    year: 2015

    To create and lead “Task Force 2020” to consider possible futures for the Deep Carbon Observatory after its first decade

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Claude Jaupart

    Though the Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO) was conceived as a 10-year effort, a midterm external review of the collaborative’s achievements suggested that the DCO leadership explore the possibilities for continuing the collaboration after Sloan Foundation funding lapses in 2019. This grant supports the creation of a special task force to explore such options. Led by French geologist Claud Jaupert, the task force will outline practical requirements and consequences of post?2019 options for the Deep Carbon Observatory, exploring the ways in which the DCO might be continued, expanded, or wound down. It will scan the intellectual horizon for new research ventures; outline international cooperative programs that could build on the DCO community and expand its scientific reach; identify researchers and academic institutions that might participate in post?2019 activities; and search for institutions, funding bodies, and foundations that could provide financial support for post?2019 activities. It would carry out these activities through commissioned papers, visits with key stakeholders and institutions, and a trio of workshops, including special focus on the (now) younger scientists who will be in the prime of their careers during the decade of the 2020s. The effort represents a reasoned, prudent way to evaluate what to do, if anything, with the databases, websites, instruments, models, monitoring networks, and human capital created by the DCO’s first decade of discovery.

    To create and lead “Task Force 2020” to consider possible futures for the Deep Carbon Observatory after its first decade

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Davis
    amount: $700,000
    city: Davis, CA
    year: 2015

    To form a Deep Carbon Modeling Forum and to stimulate creation of a system of linked models that represent and explore the dynamics of the deep carbon system as a whole

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Louise Kellogg

    Funds from this grant support an effort by Louise Kellogg of the University of California, Davis to lead a multidisciplinary group of Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO) researchers in the development of the first stages of a Deep Carbon Earth Model that integrates existing geophysical knowledge with insights uncovered by the Deep Carbon Observatory. The project will involve representatives from each of the DCO’s four scientific communities—Reservoirs and Fluxes, Deep Energy, Deep Life, and Extreme Physics and Chemistry—as they come together to craft a series of interoperable modules that can be used to model the quantities, movements, origins, and forms of deep Earth carbon. Though a fully functional, predictive model is the ultimate goal, the project promises to provide several ancillary benefits to the larger DCO effort, including identifying gaps in existing knowledge, increasing communication between the DCO’s diverse communities, and establishing project-wide modeling protocols that can serve as the basis for both current and future modeling efforts.

    To form a Deep Carbon Modeling Forum and to stimulate creation of a system of linked models that represent and explore the dynamics of the deep carbon system as a whole

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Los Angeles
    amount: $1,250,000
    city: Los Angeles, CA
    year: 2015

    To continue to lead and coordinate the activities of the Extreme Physics and Chemistry community of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Craig Manning

    The Extreme Physics and Chemistry (EPC) community of the Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO) is an international collaboration of geologists and geophysicists who have come together to transform our understanding of the unique physical and chemical properties of the 90 percent of Earth’s carbon estimated to reside in the planet’s high-pressure, high-temperature interior. EPC researchers study the diverse variety of forms deep carbon takes—solids, magmas, melts, low-density fluids—and examine the physical and chemical transformations carbon undergoes as it rises from the core to the surface and falls from the surface to the core. This grant provides two years of continued core support for the EPC as it moves toward completion of its ambitious research agenda.

    To continue to lead and coordinate the activities of the Extreme Physics and Chemistry community of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    More
  • grantee: Marine Biological Laboratory
    amount: $1,250,000
    city: Woods Hole, MA
    year: 2015

    To continue to lead and coordinate the activities of the Deep Life community of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Mitchell Sogin

    The Deep Life community of the Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO) is an international collaboration of researchers who have come together to identify and quantify interactions between deep life and deep Earth carbon, to transform our understanding of the processes that define the diversity and distribution of deep life, and to determine the environmental limits of deep life. This grant provides two years of support to the Deep Life community as it continues its research agenda. Over the next two years the community plans to launch five major field expeditions; conduct genomic?based studies of the diversity and function of deep life; measure and estimate presently unknown quantities like the magnitude of deep Earth biomass and the number of deep Earth endospores; and explore the molecular basis of microbial adaptation to extreme deep subsurface conditions. In addition, Deep Life community scientists will contribute to a DCO-wide modeling and visualization initiative and strengthen the field through the coordination of workshops, community meetings, and fellowships.

    To continue to lead and coordinate the activities of the Deep Life community of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    More
  • grantee: Syracuse University
    amount: $5,000
    city: Syracuse, NY
    year: 2015

    To  support fifteen undergraduate female physics students in the northeast United States to attend the 2016 American Physical Society Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics at Syracuse University

    • Program Higher Education
    • Initiative Professional Advancement of Underrepresented Groups
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator M. Manning

    To  support fifteen undergraduate female physics students in the northeast United States to attend the 2016 American Physical Society Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics at Syracuse University

    More
  • grantee: The Wolfram Foundation
    amount: $70,600
    city: Champaign, IL
    year: 2015

    To run a workshop on the semantic representation of mathematical knowledge

    • Program Science
    • Investigator Michael Trott

    To run a workshop on the semantic representation of mathematical knowledge

    More
  • grantee: Texas A&M University
    amount: $20,000
    city: College Station, TX
    year: 2015

    To co-sponsor, together with NSF, a workshop on evaluating the impact of inquiry-based learning in college mathematics

    • Program Science
    • Investigator Ronald Douglas

    To co-sponsor, together with NSF, a workshop on evaluating the impact of inquiry-based learning in college mathematics

    More
  • grantee: Stanford University
    amount: $72,758
    city: Stanford, CA
    year: 2015

    To gain new insights regarding labor market pathways to retirement with particular attention to the role of self-employment and to analyze the labor market participation of the 1945 birth cohort from ages 54 – 68 in a comprehensive manner

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator John Shoven

    To gain new insights regarding labor market pathways to retirement with particular attention to the role of self-employment and to analyze the labor market participation of the 1945 birth cohort from ages 54 – 68 in a comprehensive manner

    More
  • grantee: National Geographic Society
    amount: $54,824
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2015

    To produce a short video for The Science Philanthropy Alliance that illustrates its purpose and encourages philanthropic commitments to science funding for presentation with the Giving Pledge group on November 6, 2015

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program New Media
    • Investigator Pam Caragol

    To produce a short video for The Science Philanthropy Alliance that illustrates its purpose and encourages philanthropic commitments to science funding for presentation with the Giving Pledge group on November 6, 2015

    More
  • grantee: University of Tennessee
    amount: $26,364
    city: Knoxville, TN
    year: 2015

    To support the 2016 Blackwell-Tapia Conference providing early-career minority mathematicians with enhanced understanding of their field, networking with peers, and interactions with senior researchers

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Kelly Sturner

    To support the 2016 Blackwell-Tapia Conference providing early-career minority mathematicians with enhanced understanding of their field, networking with peers, and interactions with senior researchers

    More
  • grantee: American Association for the Advancement of Science
    amount: $63,694
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2015

    To provide graduate students with the skills to produce and effectively use an annotated version of the primary literature in advanced undergraduate course

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Melissa McCartney

    To provide graduate students with the skills to produce and effectively use an annotated version of the primary literature in advanced undergraduate course

    More
  • grantee: GuideStar USA, Inc.
    amount: $10,000
    city: Williamsburg, VA
    year: 2015

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Beth Suarez

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    More
  • grantee: RAND Corporation
    amount: $20,000
    city: Santa Monica, CA
    year: 2015

    To promote research on behavioral economics and household finance by co-sponsoring the 7th annual RAND Forum on Behavioral Finance

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Behavioral and Regulatory Effects on Decision-making (BRED)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Krishna Kumar

    To promote research on behavioral economics and household finance by co-sponsoring the 7th annual RAND Forum on Behavioral Finance

    More
  • grantee: FPF Education and Innovation Foundation
    amount: $75,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2015

    To partially support a meeting on ethical review processes in corporate human subjects research settings

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Jules Polonetsky

    To partially support a meeting on ethical review processes in corporate human subjects research settings

    More
  • grantee: Stanford University
    amount: $10,000
    city: Stanford, CA
    year: 2015

    To support the Precourt Energy Efficiency Center to provide stipends to advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and post-doctoral researchers to attend the 2015 Behavior, Energy and Climate Change (BECC) Conference in Sacramento, CA

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator James Sweeney

    To support the Precourt Energy Efficiency Center to provide stipends to advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and post-doctoral researchers to attend the 2015 Behavior, Energy and Climate Change (BECC) Conference in Sacramento, CA

    More
  • grantee: Columbia University
    amount: $50,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2015

    To continue support for the Center on Global Energy Policy’s external speaker series to inform public debate about critical energy issues

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Jason Bordoff

    To continue support for the Center on Global Energy Policy’s external speaker series to inform public debate about critical energy issues

    More
  • grantee: University of Washington
    amount: $19,975
    city: Seattle, WA
    year: 2015

    To support a workshop on the repair and maintenance of technological systems from a historical and sociological perspective

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Daniela Rosner

    To support a workshop on the repair and maintenance of technological systems from a historical and sociological perspective

    More
  • grantee: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
    amount: $49,724
    city: Piscataway, NJ
    year: 2015

    To determine how commonly emitted fungal Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) influence the growth and metabolism of other microbes in a shared indoor environment

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Joan Bennett

    To determine how commonly emitted fungal Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) influence the growth and metabolism of other microbes in a shared indoor environment

    More
  • grantee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    amount: $75,000
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2015

    To assess the past and present capabilities of the U.S. nuclear energy innovation system

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Richard Lester

    To assess the past and present capabilities of the U.S. nuclear energy innovation system

    More
  • grantee: University of Southern California
    amount: $99,284
    city: Los Angeles, CA
    year: 2015

    To hold a workshop to enhance African Americans’ participation in engineering education and the profession using a strengths-based, pathway approach

    • Program Higher Education
    • Initiative Professional Advancement of Underrepresented Groups
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator John Slaughter

    To hold a workshop to enhance African Americans’ participation in engineering education and the profession using a strengths-based, pathway approach

    More
  • grantee: New York University
    amount: $99,613
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2015

    To examine the microbial profiles of Amerindian homes in isolated settings with and without mestizo influence

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Maria Dominguez-Bello

    To examine the microbial profiles of Amerindian homes in isolated settings with and without mestizo influence

    More
  • grantee: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
    amount: $100,395
    city: Troy, NY
    year: 2015

    To accelerate biophysical research in the Deep Life community of the Deep Carbon Observatory with a workshop and related development of a microscopy chamber capable of withstanding high pressure

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Catherine Royer

    To accelerate biophysical research in the Deep Life community of the Deep Carbon Observatory with a workshop and related development of a microscopy chamber capable of withstanding high pressure

    More
  • grantee: The Graduate Center Foundation, Inc.
    amount: $27,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2015

    To develop a plan for a next-generation CUNY Institutional Repository

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Matthew Gold

    To develop a plan for a next-generation CUNY Institutional Repository

    More
  • grantee: American Council on Education
    amount: $122,739
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2015

    To support a national conference to identify, catalog, and disseminate generalizable principles, strategies, interventions, and tools that can be modified and used to assist senior faculty as they begin to transition to retirement

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Jean McLaughlin

    To support a national conference to identify, catalog, and disseminate generalizable principles, strategies, interventions, and tools that can be modified and used to assist senior faculty as they begin to transition to retirement

    More
  • grantee: Manhattan Theatre Club
    amount: $125,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2015

    Production support for Manhattan Theatre Club's staging of Nick Payne's science-themed Incognito 

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Theater
    • Investigator Elizabeth Rothman

    Production support for Manhattan Theatre Club's staging of Nick Payne's science-themed Incognito 

    More
  • grantee: Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors
    amount: $30,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2015

    To participate with a consortium of fellow funders in developing a Theory of Foundation initiative

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Melissa Berman

    To participate with a consortium of fellow funders in developing a Theory of Foundation initiative

    More
  • grantee: New Venture Fund
    amount: $180,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2015

    To encourage charitable giving in support of basic scientific research through Sloan membership in the Science Philanthropy Alliance

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Bruce Boyd

    To encourage charitable giving in support of basic scientific research through Sloan membership in the Science Philanthropy Alliance

    More
  • grantee: University of Washington
    amount: $36,500
    city: Seattle, WA
    year: 2015

    To support the incorporation of Optical Character Recognition tools into a citizen science data transcription platform

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Kevin Wood

    To support the incorporation of Optical Character Recognition tools into a citizen science data transcription platform

    More
  • grantee: Boston Symphony Orchestra
    amount: $20,000
    city: Boston, MA
    year: 2015

    To add streaming audio capabilities to the HENRY open-source performing arts research portal

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Bridget Carr

    To add streaming audio capabilities to the HENRY open-source performing arts research portal

    More
  • grantee: The Goodly Institute
    amount: $9,000
    city: Oakland, CA
    year: 2015

    To partially support the development of software

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Nicholas Adams

    To partially support the development of software

    More
  • grantee: Friends of NTU
    amount: $125,000
    city: San Jose, CA
    year: 2015

    As a planning grant to support the creation of a regional center of science and technology for South Asia

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Subodh Mhaisalkar

    As a planning grant to support the creation of a regional center of science and technology for South Asia

    More
  • grantee: Duke University
    amount: $300,000
    city: Durham, NC
    year: 2015

    To support Duke University’s Energy Data Analytics Lab to develop and apply advanced data analytics tools that improve understanding about potential energy utilization and responses to various interventions that affect energy utilization

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Richard Newell

    New technologies like real-time electricity meters and smart appliances are generating vast amounts of new, granular data on household energy consumption. This grant supports the Energy Data Analytics Lab (EDAL) at Duke University in its efforts to use this growing body of data to increase our understanding of household energy consumption patterns; evaluate policy interventions designed to curb energy use; and anticipate strains, failures, and bottlenecks in the electricity sector. Planned research topics over the next two years include investigations into how big data can be used to develop accurate baseline assessments of energy resources, how to use remote sensors to estimate the distribution and growth of household solar panels, and how the discovery and extraction of U.S. natural gas deposits are related to price volatility in the natural gas market. Additional grant funds support a host of outreach and community-building activities by the EDAL, including the hosting of a workshop on advanced energy data analytics, the construction of a web portal to make EDAL research, data, and methods easily available to other researchers, and the training of undergraduate and graduate students through lectures, classroom modules, and laboratory assignments.

    To support Duke University’s Energy Data Analytics Lab to develop and apply advanced data analytics tools that improve understanding about potential energy utilization and responses to various interventions that affect energy utilization

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Los Angeles
    amount: $1,250,000
    city: Los Angeles, CA
    year: 2015

    To continue the activities of the Deep Energy community of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Edward Young

    This grant provides two years of continued support to the Deep Energy community of the Deep Carbon Observatory. Researchers working in the Deep Energy community investigate the abiotic methane and hydrogen in the deep recesses of Earth. These compounds, when oxidized, release energy into the rocks around them, feed microbial life, and possibly contribute to humanity’s store of energy resources. Recent discoveries, many of them by DCO researchers, suggest that such deep energy reserves are significantly more plentiful than science has imagined. Over the next two years, Deep Energy researchers will use both field-based investigations in oceanic and continental settings and lab experiments on fluid-rock interactions to shed light on a number of important scientific questions, including how to differentiate between abiotic and biotic hydrocarbons; the role of serpentinization and other hydrogen-generating reactions in the production of deep energy; how deep energy reactions mediate the form, quantities, distribution, and mobility of abiotic carbon and hydrogen; and the relationship between deep energy and deep microbial life. In addition, the Deep Energy team will begin collaborative work with other DCO communities to bring together insights from numerous disciplines in geoscience to create a functional four-dimensional Deep Carbon in Earth Model.

    To continue the activities of the Deep Energy community of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    More
  • grantee: University of Texas, Austin
    amount: $530,060
    city: Austin, TX
    year: 2015

    To examine the hydrological characteristics of five major shale gas and shale oil regions, including understanding environmental impacts on regional water resources and induced seismicity effects from wastewater disposal

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Bridget Scanlon

    This grant provides partial support to a research project by the Bureau of Economic Geology (BEG) at the University of Texas, Austin. A multidisciplinary team of hydrologists, geologists, economists, and engineers led by geologist Bridget Scanlon will analyze the hydrological characteristics and wastewater production of five major shale oil and gas plays across the country. Using data on previous drilling at each play, the team will construct historical wastewater production estimates and then use these baseline analyses to forecast future water use and wastewater volumes. The team will then compare how water needs associated with shale drilling compare to other water demands in different regions and then estimate the potential impact of hydraulic fracturing on contributing to water scarcity in these areas. Additional work will focus on gaining a better scientific understanding of increased seismicity induced by the injection of wastewater into disposal wells.

    To examine the hydrological characteristics of five major shale gas and shale oil regions, including understanding environmental impacts on regional water resources and induced seismicity effects from wastewater disposal

    More
  • grantee: Institute for Advanced Study
    amount: $121,543
    city: Princeton, NJ
    year: 2015

    To broaden and deepen the community of researchers using differential privacy to study the mathematics of data

    • Program Science
    • Investigator Rafe Mazzeo

    To broaden and deepen the community of researchers using differential privacy to study the mathematics of data

    More
  • grantee: The University of Chicago
    amount: $80,000
    city: Chicago, IL
    year: 2015

    To organize a workshop of early career researchers studying the microbiology of the built environment

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Jack Gilbert

    To organize a workshop of early career researchers studying the microbiology of the built environment

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Davis
    amount: $997,485
    city: Davis, CA
    year: 2015

    To provide renewed support for the Microbiology of the Built Environment Network

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Jonathan Eisen

    Funds from this three-year grant support efforts by Jonathan Eisen at the University of California, Davis to provide key intellectual infrastructure support and services to the growing multidisciplinary community of researchers working in indoor microbial ecology. Through the Microbiology of the Built Environment network (microBE.net) Eisen organizes meetings and workshops, provides a hub for resource and information sharing, disseminates results and funding opportunities, aids in the dissemination of data collection and analysis standards and protocols, and helps bridge disciplinary boundaries by connecting researchers in biology, informatics, architecture, and the building sciences. Over the next three years, Eisen will continue the work of microBE.net, providing additional resources to the MoBE community in six thematic areas:  antimicrobials in the BE; nonhumans in the BE; extreme BEs; BE water systems; technical needs for the MoBE field; and general MoBE interests. Activities targeting each theme will include web development, meeting and workshop organization, social media, pilot research projects, creation and curation of open textbooks, development of a community-driven genome sequencing program, writing of scholarly articles on research and tool development, and continued development of the microBEnet blog with further recruitment of MoBE scholars to contribute to the development of modules for MoBE educational activities (e.g., college courses).

    To provide renewed support for the Microbiology of the Built Environment Network

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Davis
    amount: $250,000
    city: Davis, CA
    year: 2015

    To study the technological, economic, and environmental trade-offs associated with the use of natural gas as a low-carbon transportation fuel option in the United States

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Amy Jaffe

    This grant supports a multidisciplinary research effort led by the Institute for Transportation Studies at the University of California, Davis (ITS-Davis) to examine natural gas as an alternative fuel option to power trucks, other long-haul vehicles, municipal bus and taxi fleets, and light-duty passenger vehicles. Bringing together leading economists, engineers, geographers, policy experts, and computer scientists, ITS-Davis will organize a workshop on the issue and commission a series of papers providing a comprehensive overview of the tradeoffs associated with the use of natural gas as an alternative fuel in the transportation sector. Data from the workshop will then be used to enrich ITS-Davis’s model of the infrastructure and refueling network that must sustain any transition to natural gas as an alternative fuel. Working closely with researchers at Arizona State University, ITS-Davis also plans to expand its model to accommodate changes in diesel and natural gas fuel prices, alternative technology costs, various rates of new vehicle diffusion, altered traffic flow patterns, and changes to state-level policies.

    To study the technological, economic, and environmental trade-offs associated with the use of natural gas as a low-carbon transportation fuel option in the United States

    More
  • grantee: The University of Chicago
    amount: $900,000
    city: Chicago, IL
    year: 2015

    To accelerate scientific discovery by using statistical machine learning to enable advanced search of mathematical literature

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator John Lafferty

    Mathematical formulas are undiscoverable by modern search engines. If you are looking for a famous theorem or an equation with a name, standard search engines like Google or online encyclopedias like Wikipedia can direct you to it. But if what you are looking for is an equation that expresses one variable in terms of another, you are out of luck. Because the consumer base for such information is small and because the task of programming computers to recognize mathematical formulas is difficult, no major search engine has prioritized mathematical search. Yet from a societal point of view, the benefits of accelerating discoveries by providing such search capabilities could surely be enormous.   This grant funds a project by John Lafferty from the University of Chicago and David Blei from Columbia University to advance the field of mathematical search by developing a software program that uses sophisticated pattern recognition and statistical machine learning techniques to recognize and identify mathematical formulas on the web.

    To accelerate scientific discovery by using statistical machine learning to enable advanced search of mathematical literature

    More
  • grantee: University of Oregon
    amount: $1,375,000
    city: Eugene, OR
    year: 2015

    To provide renewed support to the Biology and the Built Environment Center

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Kevin Wymelenberg

    This grant provides two years of continued support to the University of Oregon’s Biology and the Built Environment Center (BioBE). Led by microbiologist Jessica Green and architect GZ Brown and founded with the assistance of a 2010 Sloan Foundation grant, the BioBE Center aims to develop a predictive science of the built environment microbiome by bringing together a multidisciplinary research team of microbiologists, engineers, architects, and building experts. Over the next two years, Center researchers will launch a number of research projects that attempt to expand our understanding of how ventilation, structure, and daylight influence the composition and function of indoor microbial communities. Specific topics to be studied include how antimicrobial compounds influence the indoor microbiome and how that influence is mediated by building design, how restricting exchange with outside air affects community composition indoors, and whether earlier findings suggesting that design influences the microbial dust communities are generalizable across building types. In addition to supporting the Center’s research, additional grant funds support the Center’s training and outreach activities designed to bring new talent into the field and disseminate research results widely among the scholarly community and public.

    To provide renewed support to the Biology and the Built Environment Center

    More
  • grantee: University of Southern California
    amount: $373,612
    city: Los Angeles, CA
    year: 2015

    For screenwriting and production of science and technology films by top film students

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Alan Baker

    Funds from this grant support a program at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts that encourages top film students to write, direct, and produce films with accurate, high-quality scientific content. Grant funds support a number of interrelated activities at USC, including an annual production grant competition, which gives two $22,500 grants to help quality student scripts become films, two $15,000 screenwriting awards given to the best student science-themed scripts, and an annual $17,500 animation award for the best science themed animation produced by a student animator. In addition, USC hosts an annual seminar that introduces students to the program and brings in working scientists to expose students to cutting-edge scientific research and discoveries and an annual screening night where winners’ works are screened. USC also helps facilitate student interaction with industry professionals and the submission of science themed works to film festivals and other dissemination outlets.

    For screenwriting and production of science and technology films by top film students

    More
  • grantee: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    amount: $1,262,700
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2015

    To support dissertation-stage research by economics doctoral students  working on a range of labor market issues related to an aging population

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator David Card

    This grant provides continued support for a fellowship program by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), which supports young economics scholars whose research focuses on issues relating to the labor market for aging workers. Fellowships are awarded for a single year, with a review at the end of the first year and a second-year of funding available but conditioned on satisfactory progress in the first year.  The annual selection process includes a broadly disseminated call for proposals that is sent to an extensive list of U.S. Ph.D.-granting economics departments, to researchers who are members of the Society of Labor Economists, and to researchers affiliated with the NBER research programs in Aging, Labor Studies, and Public Economics. Applications are then reviewed by a panel of experts on labor economics, aging, and public finance. Fellows are selected based on the panel’s evaluation of their potential to make important contributions to understanding the determinants and consequences of labor market activity at older ages. Funds from this grant will support three cohorts of four doctoral students beginning with the 2016-17 academic year.

    To support dissertation-stage research by economics doctoral students  working on a range of labor market issues related to an aging population

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Los Angeles
    amount: $315,100
    city: Los Angeles, CA
    year: 2015

    For screenwriting and production of science and technology films by top film students

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Kathleen McHugh

    This three-year grant provides continuing support for efforts by the University of California, Los Angeles School of Theater, Film, and Television to encourage top film students to write and produce accurate, engaging films about science and technology. The UCLA program includes a yearly $10,000 screenwriting award given to the best student script that explores scientific themes or characters; a yearly $30,000 directing award given toward the production of a dramatic or comedic film about science or technology; and a yearly day-long colloquium that brings working scientists and researchers into the classroom to expose students to exciting new developments in science and introduce them to the narrative possibilities that science and technology offer the aspiring filmmaker. Additional grant funds pair student filmmakers with scientific mentors who advise students on the scientific content of their work and ensure that scripts depict science and the scientific endeavor accurately.

    For screenwriting and production of science and technology films by top film students

    More
  • grantee: American Film Institute
    amount: $315,000
    city: Los Angeles, CA
    year: 2015

    To encourage the next generation of storytellers to create more realistic and dramatic stories about science and technology, and to challenge stereotypes about scientists and engineers through film

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Joe Petricca

    This grant provides three years of continued support to the American Film Institute’s (AFI) efforts to encourage young screenwriters and filmmakers to write and produce compelling, engaging narrative films that explore scientific themes or have scientists, engineers, or mathematicians as major characters. AFI’s program includes three annual award programs: a $25,000 award given to the best student film project that brings science and technology to life; a $10,000 annual screenwriting award given to the best science-themed script; and a yearly tuition scholarship worth $35,000 given to an incoming filmmaker with a background in the hard sciences who wishes to incorporate scientific themes in his or her filmmaking. In addition, AFI holds a seminar series where established actors, writers, directors, and producers talk to students about science and Hollywood, and provides access to working scientists to serve as mentors on student scripts.

    To encourage the next generation of storytellers to create more realistic and dramatic stories about science and technology, and to challenge stereotypes about scientists and engineers through film

    More
  • grantee: RAND Corporation
    amount: $347,872
    city: Santa Monica, CA
    year: 2015

    To understand how joint retirement and partial retirement interact

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Katherine Carman

    Whereas retirement in a traditional marriage of breadwinner and homemaker involves a single retirement decision, in a two-earner marriage, the decisions are dual, and in many cases, joint. Yet, exactly what the pathways are for both members of working couples as they transition from full employment to full retirement are less than clear. This grant to the RAND Corporation supports a research project aimed at increasing our understanding of couples’ work and retirement trajectories by developing a theoretical model describing joint work-to-retirement transitions that can be applied to 12 waves of the Health and Retirement Study data. The data will allow the RAND team to examine how preferences for joint retirement and opportunities for partial retirement interact in the retirement decision, provide the first estimates of the prevalence of different joint work-to-retirement trajectories, and examine how factors such as age differences, part-time work opportunities, and leisure cause couples to make similar or different retirement transitions. In addition, the RAND team will explore how multistate models can be applied to the analysis of Health and Retirement Study data to explain retirement transitions across a range of pathways from full-time work to full-time retirement, including transitions through part-time employment.

    To understand how joint retirement and partial retirement interact

    More
  • grantee: Digital Public Library of America, Inc.
    amount: $1,901,709
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2015

    Support for the Digital Public Library of America to complete its Nationwide Service Hub Network and to pilot an eBooks distribution program

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Universal Access to Knowledge
    • Investigator Daniel Cohen

    This grant supports the Digital Public Library of America to expand its nationwide service hub network. Service hubs are on-ramps in each state for uploading and sharing digital content from the smallest private collection in a remote rural library to the largest state library or museum. As such, they are the key to DPLA's grass-roots, bottom-up, decentralized approach to building a national digital library. Hubs host locally provided digital content for the DPLA, correct and add metadata to uploaded items, coordinate local events and public outreach, and collaborate with state cultural institutions on digital initiatives. Grant funds will allow the DPLA to add eight new service hubs to its current roster of 15, increasing coverage by 50 percent and moving the institution closer to its goal of being a truly national digital library. Funds from this grant also support a DPLA initiative to partner with authors, publishers, libraries, and the White House to launch a new service network that provides free eBooks to children.

    Support for the Digital Public Library of America to complete its Nationwide Service Hub Network and to pilot an eBooks distribution program

    More
  • grantee: The University of Chicago
    amount: $214,690
    city: Chicago, IL
    year: 2015

    To elicit and study experts’ prior predictions about the outcomes of experiments in behavioral economics

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Behavioral and Regulatory Effects on Decision-making (BRED)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Devin Pope

    What do behavioral economists really know? Lessons learned so far seem more about isolated, but intriguing, examples rather than coherent or unifying principles. What counts as accepted doctrine is based almost exclusively on empirical results about particular phenomena such as loss aversion, probability weighting, altruism, hyperbolic discounting, and social comparisons. One would expect, therefore, that experts would be rather good at predicting the outcomes of standard experiments about standard topics in behavioral economics. This grant funds a research project by Devin Pope of Chicago and Stefano DellaVigna of Berkeley that test that hypothesis. First, Pope and DellaVigna will ask experts to forecast the effects of 17 different behavioral interventions or “nudges” in standard, simple, familiar, and carefully specified experiments. Second, they will run these experiments as described in a common setting. A large number of subjects will be asked to perform an effortful 10-minute task online. Each will be assigned to one of the 17 different framings, incentive structures, or other treatments. Just by keeping everything else equal except these behavioral interventions, the experimenters will be able to draw conclusions about the relative magnitudes and probabilities of various effects. Third, they will compare the expert forecasts with the experimental results. It is possible, of course, that all the predictions will turn out to be quite accurate—or not. In any case, such an exercise should help identify what behavioral economists do agree upon and, therefore, what we have learned from behavioral economics.

    To elicit and study experts’ prior predictions about the outcomes of experiments in behavioral economics

    More
  • grantee: Northwestern University
    amount: $258,536
    city: Evanston, IL
    year: 2015

    To improve estimates of how research investments translate into breakthroughs by scientific teams, and how scientific breakthroughs translate into eventual economic growth

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Economic Analysis of Science and Technology (EAST)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Benjamin Jones

    Among big questions about the economics of science, two of the most important and challenging concern investments in research and development (R&D): How do the inputs to R&D map into scientific breakthroughs? And how do the inputs to R&D map into broader social returns? This grant funds efforts by Benjamin Jones of Northwestern University to make fresh progress on each of these questions. First Jones will focus on the productivity of scientific teams, investigating how the characteristics of individual team members contribute to overall performance in different contexts. We know little about what makes effective scientific collaboration. For theoretical work, perhaps the strength of the strongest researcher drives results; in the lab, perhaps the strength of the weakest researcher matters most; and, in other situations, it may be some kind of average over everyone. Jones will use output and productivity data on scientific team composition to try to understand how these different skills and training fit together to influence scientific productivity. In a second effort, Jones will investigate the time delays between investments in and payoffs from R&D. Starting with NSF and NIH grant numbers, he will link newly available microeconomic data that trace how long it takes in various fields for grants to turn into papers, for papers to turn into patents, and for patents to turn into adopted technologies. Jones will then use these data to calculate societal returns to government investment in science.

    To improve estimates of how research investments translate into breakthroughs by scientific teams, and how scientific breakthroughs translate into eventual economic growth

    More
  • grantee: University of Pennsylvania
    amount: $494,015
    city: Philadelphia, PA
    year: 2015

    To develop, analyze, and evaluate data science algorithms that provably protect privacy while avoiding overfitting and false discovery

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Aaron Roth

    This grant supports University of Pennsylvania computer scientist Aaron Roth in his work to develop, analyze, and evaluate “differentially private” algorithms for use in scientific discovery. First developed by mathematicians concerned about privacy, differentially private algorithms are ways of querying sensitive datasets. An algorithm or database query is “differentially private” if the results it returns would be provably the same even if an individual record were randomly replaced by another record in the queried dataset. Since the results such algorithms return do not depend on whether a given record is or is not included in the dataset, one cannot reverse engineer who is in the dataset from the results it generates. The privacy of the data is thereby protected. As it happens, this privacy protecting feature has uses outside the concern to protect privacy. Differentially private algorithms also prevent data mining and overfitting. Since differentially private algorithms produce the same results regardless of whether a given observation is randomly replaced by another, it is difficult to use them to craft results tailored to the particularities of the data you happen to have collected. At present, however, differentially private algorithms are more exciting in theory than in practice. They tend to be laborious and slow. What’s needed is further development and testing of such algorithms with scientific applications in mind. Dr. Roth is working on just such an approach, trying to develop practical applications of differentially private algorithms that are streamlined and reliable enough to be used in everyday scientific practice and analysis.

    To develop, analyze, and evaluate data science algorithms that provably protect privacy while avoiding overfitting and false discovery

    More
  • grantee: California Institute of Technology
    amount: $283,935
    city: Pasadena, CA
    year: 2015

    To conduct replication studies on economics papers after running prediction markets that subjectively assess the probability of confirmations

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Colin Camerer

    This grant funds a project lead by California Institute of Technology economist Colin Camerer to attempt to replicate the findings of 18 seminal papers in economics. Working with the original authors, Camerer has selected highly influential, highly cited papers that all deal with between-subject treatment effects that appeared between 2011 and 2014 in either the American Economic Review or the Quarterly Journal of Economics. Camerer and his team have worked with the original authors to design the replication experiments and have agreed in advance about what kinds of findings will constitute a confirmation and which will not. His team will also run a prediction market where knowledgeable economic experts can trade bets on the likelihood that various results are confirmed by the new data. The project will thereby not only measure whether these 18 experimental results can be replicated, but whether and to what extent the community of economists is able to reliably predict such replication when it is likely to happen and whether expert confidence serves as a good indicator of future replicability in economics.

    To conduct replication studies on economics papers after running prediction markets that subjectively assess the probability of confirmations

    More
  • grantee: The New School for Social Research
    amount: $960,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2015

    To provide New York City parents, particularly those in underserved communities, with information and data needed to make sound choices about their children’s education, especially in science, mathematics, economics, and computer science

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Clara Hemphill

    This grant supports the continued operation and administration of InsideSchools.org, a public website that provides comprehensive information on New York City’s 1,700 public schools, including photos and videos of the school, student achievement statistics, course offerings, and reviews compiled by independent reviewers from on-site visits. Grant funds provide three years of core operational support as well as planned efforts to improve the site’s search capabilities and accessibility via smartphones and other mobile devices. In addition, the grant provides resources to help the site develop and implement plans for long-term financial sustainability.  

    To provide New York City parents, particularly those in underserved communities, with information and data needed to make sound choices about their children’s education, especially in science, mathematics, economics, and computer science

    More
  • grantee: Business-Higher Education Forum
    amount: $650,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2015

    To support the New York City (NYC) Data Science Task Force as it leads the planning, design, and implementation of new partnerships, pathways, and learning opportunities in data science and analytics at the undergraduate level

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Isabel Cardenas-Navia

    Funds from this grant support an initiative by the Business-Higher Education Forum (BHEF) to expand the number of NYC metro area institutions involved in educating undergraduates to become data scientists and data science–enabled professionals. Over the next four years, BHEF will convene and support the NYC Data Science Task Force of approximately 40 representatives from academic institutions, corporations, cultural and research organizations, and government agencies; convene two working groups, one aimed at mapping the skills, competencies, and knowledge needed for data scientists and one on developing a repository of undergraduate data science curricular resources; partner with NYC institutions to create data-science-focused courses, concentrations, and minors; work with industry partners to create high-quality internships and other student work experiences in data science and create guidelines and best practices for the creation of these experiences; and disseminate lessons learned to the broader educational community.  

    To support the New York City (NYC) Data Science Task Force as it leads the planning, design, and implementation of new partnerships, pathways, and learning opportunities in data science and analytics at the undergraduate level

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Los Angeles
    amount: $1,424,012
    city: Los Angeles, CA
    year: 2015

    To study how disciplinary configurations, scale, and methods of collection influence the circulation of scientific research data

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Christine Borgman

    This grant supports a project by UCLA Professor of Information Studies Christine Borgman to investigate the role of three key variables that influence the circulation of data in a given scientific community: diversity of disciplines, degree of centralization of data collection, and scale of data (i.e., “big” vs. “long-tail”). Through a set of research sites drawn from astronomy, ocean science, and biomedicine, and leveraging over a decade of data collected and coded from additional research sites, Borgman and her team will chart how these three attributes influence data practices. The resulting work will shed light on how the structure of scientific collaborations affects the willingness to share data, and help identify those areas of the scientific enterprise that may be more or less amenable to widespread data sharing. In addition to academic publications, Borgman’s work will produce implementable guidelines that could inform the design of future efforts by private and government funders interested in increasing data sharing in the sciences.

    To study how disciplinary configurations, scale, and methods of collection influence the circulation of scientific research data

    More
  • grantee: Carnegie Mellon University
    amount: $1,098,493
    city: Pittsburgh, PA
    year: 2015

    To study and develop best practices for community code engagements in the context of scientific software development

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator James Herbsleb

    Recent work by Jim Herbsleb at Carnegie Mellon University found that volunteer contributions to open source software development projects increased in the aftermath of “community code engagement” (CCE) events like hackathons or summer coding projects. Yet little is known about how exactly CCEs lead to more contributions from volunteers, what makes for a good CCE, and what pitfalls to avoid. This grant funds efforts by Jim Herbsleb to continue his examination of how CCEs spur contributions to scientific software development and to compile a list of best practices for CCE design and implementation. Over the next three years, Herbsleb and his team will study successful and failed CCEs through participant observation, semistructured interviews, and quantitative analysis of software version histories to determine contribution patterns. He will then develop a set of best practices for CCE design and test these guidelines in a series of pilot projects.  Herbsleb and his team will then develop a CCE Toolkit that they will introduce to scientific software developers at a series of workshops attached to disciplinary meetings. The project promises to provide useful new information on how to spur engagement in community software development, an activity that is likely to become increasingly important as science moves further and further into the information age.

    To study and develop best practices for community code engagements in the context of scientific software development

    More
  • grantee: Columbia University
    amount: $600,007
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2015

    To support the development, maintenance, and dissemination of Stan, a probabilistic programming language that simplifies Bayesian modeling and data analysis

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Andrew Gelman

    Bayesian statistical analysis is powerful, yet it is infrequently used in many scientific domains. Calculating Bayesian probability distributions is complicated, and available computer programs designed to do the job are slow and inefficient. As a result, a useful intellectual tool for the scientific analysis of data lies largely untapped. This grant supports development of Stan, a powerful, open source computing platform designed by Columbia University statistician Andrew Gelman that calculates Bayesian probabilities quickly and efficiently. Funds from this grant will support Gelman’s efforts to build out the capabilities of Stan, allowing it to seamlessly interact with other computing platforms like R, Python, and Julia that see wide use in the scientific community. Additional funds support development of Stan’s technical capabilities, allowing it to efficiently handle certain complex statistical models and community development and outreach through the organization of conferences and online users groups.

    To support the development, maintenance, and dissemination of Stan, a probabilistic programming language that simplifies Bayesian modeling and data analysis

    More
  • grantee: The University of Chicago
    amount: $995,775
    city: Chicago, IL
    year: 2015

    To construct, calibrate, and compare models for analyzing how the financial institutions interact with the real economy

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Financial and Institutional Modeling in Macroeconomics (FIMM)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Lars Hansen

    This grant funds three projects by the University of Chicago’s Macro-Financial Modeling (MFM) initiative. Led by University of Chicago economist and Nobel laureate Lars Peter Hansen and Andrew Lo of MIT, the MFM initiative is a group of distinguished economists, business professors, and other finance experts who have come together to meet the challenges of modeling the complex interactions between the real economy and modern financial institutions. The first supported project is a summer school for graduate students, which will bring young scholars from a variety of intellectual backgrounds to the University of Chicago to introduce them to macro-finanical modeling and to work on specific projects related to it. The second is an open call competition for new or crowd-sourced solutions to problems posed by the MFM initiative. The call will elicit the best thinking from outside the group, encourage innovative and creative approaches to established problems, and expand the reach of the initiative to those not yet involved in the program.  The third project is the development and construction of an online platform for comparing and archiving various macro-financial models. This platform will allow MFM scholars to compare, contrast, and evaluate different models and will spur integrative work that may lead to the combination or improvement of existing models.

    To construct, calibrate, and compare models for analyzing how the financial institutions interact with the real economy

    More
  • grantee: Fund for Public Health in New York, Inc.
    amount: $1,044,516
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2015

    To evaluate and validate the use of social media for foodborne outbreak detection

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Romy Basil

    The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) estimates that more than 1,000 restaurant-associated outbreaks of foodborne illness occur in the city each year. Outbreaks are usually reported by the victims themselves via telephone calls to 311 or the health department. Most victims don’t bother, however, and as a result the DOHMH detects only about 30 outbreaks each year. Since quickly detecting foodborne illness outbreaks is critical to implementing control measures in time to protect the public, better detection measures are needed. This grant funds a project by the Fund for the City of New York, in collaboration with the DOHMH and researchers at Columbia University to experiment with using Twitter and other social media to detect unreported instances of restaurant-related foodborne illness. The theory is that while people may be unlikely to report a foodborne illness to the health department, they are much more likely to tweet or post to Facebook about it. Real-time analysis of public data from Twitter and other social media sites may be able to reliably inform health department officials of outbreaks as they are happening. Over the next three years, the FCNY team will develop algorithmic methods for searching Twitter feeds, identifying tweets potentially relevant to foodborne illness outbreaks in NYC, and then evaluate the reliability of those algorithms in detecting actual outbreaks. Additional grant funds support efforts to increase voluntary reports of foodborne illness outbreaks by allowing NYC residents to report illness directly through Twitter. The project is experimental, but the prospective gains are large. Even a small increase in the ability to detect restaurant-related foodborne illness outbreaks would represent a significant improvement of current detection capabilities.

    To evaluate and validate the use of social media for foodborne outbreak detection

    More
  • grantee: Institute on Science for Global Policy
    amount: $125,000
    city: Tucson, AZ
    year: 2015

    To integrate empirical behavioral science and decision-making research into the design and evaluation of deliberative dialogue processes

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Behavioral and Regulatory Effects on Decision-making (BRED)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator George Atkinson

    To integrate empirical behavioral science and decision-making research into the design and evaluation of deliberative dialogue processes

    More
  • grantee: Syracuse University
    amount: $48,900
    city: Syracuse, NY
    year: 2015

    To provide partial support for a study examining how consumers perceive privacy risks associated with smart grid and home energy technologies

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Jason Dedrick

    To provide partial support for a study examining how consumers perceive privacy risks associated with smart grid and home energy technologies

    More
  • grantee: New York University
    amount: $22,611
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2015

    To provide partial support for the Computer Science for Cyber Security summer program for High School women

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Nasir Memon

    To provide partial support for the Computer Science for Cyber Security summer program for High School women

    More
  • grantee: The University of Chicago
    amount: $125,000
    city: Chicago, IL
    year: 2015

    To investigate the impact of the Social Security Retirement Earnings Test

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Damon Jones

    To investigate the impact of the Social Security Retirement Earnings Test

    More
  • grantee: Council on Foundations, Inc.
    amount: $45,000
    city: Arlington, VA
    year: 2015

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Vikki Spruill

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    More
  • grantee: National Academy of Sciences
    amount: $20,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2015

    To provide partial support for the formation of a multi-sectoral Roundtable on Unconventional Hydrocarbon Development to gather and critically examine the scientific, engineering, regulatory, and environmental dimensions of unconventional hydrocarbon development

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Elizabeth Eide

    To provide partial support for the formation of a multi-sectoral Roundtable on Unconventional Hydrocarbon Development to gather and critically examine the scientific, engineering, regulatory, and environmental dimensions of unconventional hydrocarbon development

    More
  • grantee: Colorado School of Mines
    amount: $12,000
    city: Golden, CO
    year: 2015

    To provide partial support for a symposium to recognize the scientific accomplishments of Sloan MoBE grantee Norman Pace

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator John Spear

    To provide partial support for a symposium to recognize the scientific accomplishments of Sloan MoBE grantee Norman Pace

    More
  • grantee: George Washington University
    amount: $10,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2015

    To sponsor speakers and graduate students at the next meeting of an annual and international conference on intelligent computer mathematics and mathematical knowledge management

    • Program Science
    • Investigator Abdou Youssef

    To sponsor speakers and graduate students at the next meeting of an annual and international conference on intelligent computer mathematics and mathematical knowledge management

    More
  • grantee: Columbia University
    amount: $64,951
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2015

    To develop strategies to improve emergency preparedness at NYC schools

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Jeff Schlegelmilch

    To develop strategies to improve emergency preparedness at NYC schools

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Berkeley
    amount: $119,611
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2015

    To develop methods to optimize recovery of RNA from indoor microbiome samples

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Gary Andersen

    To develop methods to optimize recovery of RNA from indoor microbiome samples

    More
  • grantee: Data & Society Research Institute
    amount: $49,975
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2015

    To map how computer scientists navigate issues of privacy, ethics, and equitable access to data; and to explore how research libraries might support better practices

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Danah Boyd

    To map how computer scientists navigate issues of privacy, ethics, and equitable access to data; and to explore how research libraries might support better practices

    More
  • grantee: International Energy Program Evaluation Conference
    amount: $20,000
    city: Chatham, MA
    year: 2015

    To continue to accelerate and advance the profession of energy evaluation through instilling an interest in and connections to professional evaluation of energy programs and policies by enabling graduate students to attend the IEPPEC Conference at no charge

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Jane Peters

    To continue to accelerate and advance the profession of energy evaluation through instilling an interest in and connections to professional evaluation of energy programs and policies by enabling graduate students to attend the IEPPEC Conference at no charge

    More
  • grantee: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    amount: $588,800
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2015

    To undertake economic research on energy infrastructure, with a focus on hydrocarbon transport and local energy distribution

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator James Bushnell

    Funds from this grant support an initiative by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) to create a research working group on energy infrastructure. Bringing together leading economists as well as junior scholars entering the field, the working group aims to develop and implement a research agenda focused on two issue areas: the transport of hydrocarbons and the increase in distributed energy generation and storage. Spurred by the discovery of new oil and gas resources in the U.S., research in the first issue area will explore the economic costs, benefits, and policy issues associated with moving oil and methane by truck, rail, and pipeline. Research in the second issue area will focus on issues such as the expanding market for rooftop solar panels, utilization of electric vehicles as backup battery power, developments in smart grid technologies, and how these new technologies interact with existing energy generation and distribution infrastructure. Grant funds will support an initial workshop on each of the two topic areas, the development and implementation of up to 16 separate studies, and a capstone conference for the presentation of research results. The effort will be led by James Bushnell from the University of California, Davis; Ryan Kellogg from the University of Michigan; and Erin Mansur from Dartmouth College.

    To undertake economic research on energy infrastructure, with a focus on hydrocarbon transport and local energy distribution

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Berkeley
    amount: $1,499,516
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2015

    To support the E2e project and continue the expansion, coordination, and facilitation of interdisciplinary research on energy efficiency through randomized controlled trials and other experimental methodologies

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Catherine Wolfram

    This grant provides three years of continued support to the E2e project, a multi-institutional collaboration of researchers who have come together to examine the “energy efficiency paradox,” the name given to the puzzling phenomenon of consumers’ failure to widely adopt money-saving energy efficiency practices, products, and technologies. Headquartered at the University of California, Berkeley and with organizational nodes at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Chicago, the E2e collaboration brings scholars and students together to share and access data, connect with policymakers and the private sector, and work together on the design and implementation of individual and joint research projects. Topics being investigated by E2e researchers include understanding consumer decision-making in the residential sector; how framing, discounting, and choice architecture contribute to informational and behavioral inefficiencies; how to use insights from behavioral psychology and economics to increase the impact of policy interventions; and how well engineering models predict actual real world efficiency gains of adopted technologies. Grant funds provide operating support for the project, including funds for the expansion of the research network to include new scholars, publication of a working paper and policy brief series, data acquisition, a seed funding competition for junior scholars, the development of an online tool to help researchers craft effective experimental design, and a series of training workshops for students and practitioners.

    To support the E2e project and continue the expansion, coordination, and facilitation of interdisciplinary research on energy efficiency through randomized controlled trials and other experimental methodologies

    More
  • grantee: Columbia University
    amount: $248,400
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2015

    To support the Women in Energy program at the Center on Global Energy Policy to help increase gender diversity and female leadership in the energy sector

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Jason Bordoff

    Funds from this grant provide two years of support to the Women in Energy project at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP) as it undertakes a series of educational, networking, mentorship, and career-development activities aimed at supporting and encouraging the involvement of female students in careers related to energy. Funded activities include organizing lectures and small group conversations with leading women in the energy sector, arranging visits for female students to key energy sites in the region, developing a formal mentoring program that connects students with leading women in the energy sector, and offering a handful of small stipends to female students to defray the cost of summer internship opportunities.

    To support the Women in Energy program at the Center on Global Energy Policy to help increase gender diversity and female leadership in the energy sector

    More
  • grantee: Phoenix Bioinformatics
    amount: $498,945
    city: Redwood City, CA
    year: 2015

    To support the development of a flexible paywall service for scientific data repositories

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Eva Huala

    The sustainability of scientific data repositories is a matter of much concern. One recent success story is the Arabidopsis Information Resource (TAIR), a plant biology database that shifted from a grant-funded to a community-funded business model through the strategic development of a discriminating paywall that grants free, limited access to many users while requiring a sliding scale paid subscription for full, unlimited access. TAIR Director Eva Huala believes that a more flexible version of this paywall software could enable many other data repositories to develop their own variations on this model. While there are several for-profit startups offering such services, none offer the functionality needed by scientific data repositories, and these repositories appear to be much too small a market to draw those startups' focus. Funds from this grant will support Phoenix Bioinformatics, the 501(c)3 that runs TAIR, in its efforts to develop a flexible, portable version of its paywall software that could be used by a wide variety of scientific data repositories.

    To support the development of a flexible paywall service for scientific data repositories

    More
  • grantee: The University of Chicago
    amount: $881,666
    city: Chicago, IL
    year: 2015

    To develop new knowledge about the metabolism of indoor microbial communities using experimental and modeling approaches

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Jack Gilbert

    Recent field investigations of the microbiology of the built environment have demonstrated that the biological composition of indoor air and building surfaces is vastly more complex than previously thought. Very little is known, however, about the fundamental ecology of the microbes that colonize these locations. This grant supports efforts by a research team led by Jack Gilbert, associate professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Chicago, to develop new knowledge about the metabolism of indoor microbial communities using experimental and modeling approaches. The team plans to examine how different building surface materials, under variable temperature and humidity conditions, influence microbial growth, evolution, and survival and will develop a mechanistic model that can predict the succession and metabolism of microbial communities on surfaces. Dr. Gilbert and his team will seed tile, laminate, wood, and metal surfaces with defined microbial consortia acquired from human skin, dog fur, and soil, and observe microbial community succession under various temperature and humidity conditions. Their observations will test a number of important hypotheses, including how humidity affects the diversity of metabolically active bacteria and fungi, whether taxonomic diversity of active microbes decreases over time, how air temperature affects cell grow rates, and how the bacteria-to-phage ratio in a given microbial community affects overall community size.   If successful, the project will result in new knowledge about bacterial succession in the built environment and provide a mechanistic model to improve understanding of the metabolic activities of indoor microbes. The team plans to share their findings through publications in peer-reviewed journals, presentations at meetings and conferences, and through the use of social and traditional media. At least two postdoctoral fellows and two graduate students will be trained.

    To develop new knowledge about the metabolism of indoor microbial communities using experimental and modeling approaches

    More
  • grantee: University of California, San Diego
    amount: $326,700
    city: La Jolla, CA
    year: 2015

    To develop improved software tools for studying the microbiology of the built environment that integrate sequence data, metabolic data, and building science data

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Robin Knight

    Researchers identify indoor microbes based on sequence data, i.e., analysis of DNA that is isolated from samples taken indoors. Though DNA sequencing has led to the discovery of a vast array of new indoor microbes, important gaps in our knowledge remain. We have an increasingly detailed picture of which microbes thrive indoors, but we don’t know what those microbes are doing. Enter mass spectronomy, an analytical chemistry technique that identifies the types and amounts of chemicals in a sample based on molecular weight. By using mass spectronomy to analyze indoor samples for chemicals produced by microbial metabolism, researchers can peer into the actual workings of indoor microbial communities. This grant funds a project by microbiologist Rob Knight of the University of Colorado and Pieter Dorrestein, professor of pharmacology at the University of California, San Diego, to expand the capabilities of two popular software platforms, QIIME and GNPS, to enable each to integrate sequence data, metabolic data, and building science measurements and permit researchers to easily perform DNA analysis and chemical data analysis on the same samples. The expanded systems will allow scholars to examine related microbial and metabolic processes directly in samples from the built environment, and in some cases to reanalyze samples already collected.

    To develop improved software tools for studying the microbiology of the built environment that integrate sequence data, metabolic data, and building science data

    More
  • grantee: Tribeca Film Institute
    amount: $208,011
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2015

    To support the Sloan Student Grand Jury Prize administered by the Tribeca Film Institute to the best-of-the-best screenplay from Sloan’s six film school partners

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Anna Ponder

    This grant provides two years of funding for the Sloan Student Grand Prize. This annual prize is awarded to the single best student screenplay produced by a student from one of the Foundation’s six film school partners (AFI, Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, NYU, UCLA, and USC) and supports the development of that script into a finished film. The prize stimulates interest and excitement among the participating film schools and film students by awarding a “best-of-the-best” prize and by fast-tracking the winning project for development so it becomes a major career opportunity. The award package is $50,000 per year, of which $30,000 goes directly to the student filmmaker. The remaining $20,000 funds an industry mentor to guide the project, a committed science advisor, and other marketing (meetings, readings, events) and distribution efforts to maximize the screenplay’s chances of production.

    To support the Sloan Student Grand Jury Prize administered by the Tribeca Film Institute to the best-of-the-best screenplay from Sloan’s six film school partners

    More
  • grantee: Stanford University
    amount: $302,859
    city: Stanford, CA
    year: 2015

    To estimate the effect of the Veteran’s Administration Disability Compensation (DC) enrollment on older veterans' labor market outcomes

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Mark Duggan

    This grant supports efforts by economists Mark Duggan of Stanford University and Courtney Coile of Wellesley College to increase our understanding of how incentives created by public policy affect labor market behavior of older workers by examining changes to the Veterans Administration Disability Compensation (VA-DC) program. Their work seeks to exploit a “natural experiment” occasioned by a 2001 change in the VA-DC that increased the generosity of the program, particularly for veterans of the Vietnam War. Analyzing administrative data on enrollees both before and after the change in policy, Duggan and Coile will estimate the effect of VA-DC enrollment on older veterans’ labor market outcomes; determine how these effects vary with age, race, ethnicity, marital status, educational attainment, and health; explore the effect of VA-DC enrollment on spouses’ labor market outcomes; examine the effect on enrollment in other government programs and on enrollees’ health status and economic well-being; and investigate whether expansions in the program’s eligibility criteria increased the sensitivity of older veterans’ labor market outcomes to economic conditions.

    To estimate the effect of the Veteran’s Administration Disability Compensation (DC) enrollment on older veterans' labor market outcomes

    More
  • grantee: RAND Corporation
    amount: $441,606
    city: Santa Monica, CA
    year: 2015

    To advance knowledge on how human capital depreciating innovation affects older workers and on the role of training in modifying those effects

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Nicole Maestas

    New technologies in a workplace—new devices, new software systems, new production techniques—often require workers to acquire new skills. Workers who do not learn how to properly use these new technologies become less productive relative to workers who do and, in theory, less valuable to their employer. This grant funds work by Nicole Maestas of the RAND Corporation to examine how technological change affects the employment outcomes of older workers. Using a large dataset on German workers, Maestas and her team will analyze how technological innovations affect wage growth, employment status, and exit from the labor market among older workers; whether older workers are less likely than younger workers to receive training after innovation changes; and whether training can reduce or reverse the potential negative effects of innovation on the employment outcomes of older workers.

    To advance knowledge on how human capital depreciating innovation affects older workers and on the role of training in modifying those effects

    More
  • grantee: Harvard University
    amount: $604,647
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2015

    To deliver an interdisciplinary, postdoctoral training program on aging and work that addresses the challenges of aging societies and labor force participation

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Lisa Berkman

    This grant supports an initiative by the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies (HCPDS) to launch an interdisciplinary, postdoctoral training program, the Sloan Fellowship on Aging and Work, which will support leading young scholars who wish to use multidisciplinary approaches to study the social and economic challenges posed by the aging work force. Led by center director Lisa Berkman, the HCPDS fellowship program will support three postdoctoral fellows for two-year terms beginning in September 2016. Fellows will be selected through a competitive application process, with candidates evaluated based on a number of criteria, including the quality of past work, the strength of their proposed research plans, and their potential to integrate questions, approaches, or analysis from two or more disciplines, including epidemiology, economics, psychology, neuroscience, and sociology.

    To deliver an interdisciplinary, postdoctoral training program on aging and work that addresses the challenges of aging societies and labor force participation

    More
  • grantee: Council of Graduate Schools
    amount: $141,472
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2015

    To develop an instrument for collecting information on the careers of STEM Ph.D.’s from matriculation to 15 years post-graduation

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Suzanne Ortega

    This grant supports efforts by the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) to improve the ways colleges and universities collect data on the career pathways and outcomes of graduate students in doctoral programs. CGS will spearhead the development and dissemination of an instrument to be used by departments at colleges and universities to track the careers of those that graduate from their doctoral programs. In addition, it will provide universities with a framework for administering the surveys and analyzing responses. Unlike the data collected in the Survey of Doctorate Recipients and the Survey of Earned Doctorates, which are aggregated nationally, the CGS effort would be focused on data aggregated at the departmental and institutional levels and would focus on improving individual graduate programs; enhance institutional services to graduate students; inform prospective and current graduate students about careers associated with particular degree programs; and increase the awareness of policymakers, funders, and the broader public about the professional and social contributions of doctorate holders—wherever their lives take them. Data collection is envisioned to continue for 15 years post-matriculation.

    To develop an instrument for collecting information on the careers of STEM Ph.D.’s from matriculation to 15 years post-graduation

    More
  • grantee: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    amount: $617,550
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2015

    To advance understanding of household financial behavior and policy

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Behavioral Economics and Household Finance (BEHF)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Brigitte Madrian

    Funds from this grant continue operational support to the NBER Working Group on Household Finance, a group of researchers from economics departments, business schools, government, and industry who come together to work on questions about household balance sheets and financial decision-making. Under the leadership of Brigitte Madrian of Harvard and Steve Zeldes of Columbia, the group holds regular meetings, shares new developments in the field, identifies gaps in the research literature and promising ways to fill them, develops research projects, and convenes a well-attended biennial meeting on the economics of household finance. Additional initiatives planned for the next three years include a postdoctoral fellowship program to help engage the next generation of rising economists in the field of household finance, and a project focused on developing new methods, standards, and courses related to the use of administrative and government data.

    To advance understanding of household financial behavior and policy

    More
  • grantee: Benefits Data Trust
    amount: $330,526
    city: Philadelphia, PA
    year: 2015

    To test neoclassical and behavioral accounts of government benefits uptake by running a randomized controlled experiment on food stamp program enrollment procedures

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Behavioral Economics and Household Finance (BEHF)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Matthew Notowidigdo

    People eligible for government benefits do not always make use of them. This goes for everything from health insurance subsidies to federal weatherization incentives to tax breaks for retirement savings to student loan forgiveness plans. For social scientists, particularly behavioral economists, the underutilization of such benefits is a vexing puzzle. Working with the Benefits Data Trust, Matt Notowidigdo of Northwestern has secured records and permissions to run a randomized controlled trial on the uptake of benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Although there have been studies of SNAP before, none have been randomized controlled trials. The study calls for over 30,000 eligible seniors to be slated by chance for one of three treatments: the control group gets nothing special; a “low touch” group will receive information about enrolling; and the “high touch” group will also receive assistance with preparing the necessary paperwork. Researchers will then analyze the collected data about who actually enrolls. Funds from this grant will support Notowidigdo and his team in executing the experiment and analyzing the results. None of Notowidigdo’s efforts aim to address potentially ideological questions about the existence or generosity of SNAP or social welfare programs in general. Rather, the aim is to generate empirical economic evidence that will help economists test different theories about what factors drive uptake of social safety net programs and how such programs can be administered effectively and efficiently.

    To test neoclassical and behavioral accounts of government benefits uptake by running a randomized controlled experiment on food stamp program enrollment procedures

    More
  • grantee: National Public Radio, Inc.
    amount: $550,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2015

    To support Planet Money’s coverage of economics via multimedia journalism and enterprise radio reporting

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Radio
    • Investigator Christopher Turpin

    This grant provides two years of continued support for production of National Public Radio’s Planet Money podcast. Grant funds will help produce in-depth economic content to be disseminated via the Planet Money podcast and blog and on NPR’s All Things Considered, Morning Edition, NPR One, and This American Life. Additional funds will support the production of multimedia pieces to supplement and enhance the broadcast content on the web, a series of interactive “sound walks” that explore economic history, and several experiments in participatory journalism.

    To support Planet Money’s coverage of economics via multimedia journalism and enterprise radio reporting

    More
  • grantee: PRX Incorporated
    amount: $500,000
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2015

    To support PRX in a three-pronged approach to expand science-themed audio content for radio broadcast, podcast, and video

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Radio
    • Investigator Jake Shapiro

    Funds from this grant support a three-pronged initiative by PRX, public radio’s largest distribution marketplace, to expand science-themed audio for radio broadcast and podcasting. First, PRX will continue to expand its Open Call for STEM stories, which last year generated more than 100 submissions from reporters and producers with compelling science stories to tell. Second, PRX will develop and support five new radio shows featuring women scientists and produced by women. Finally, PRX will incorporate science- and technology-themed episodes into its existing portfolio of popular programs, including The Moth Radio Hour, 99% Invisible, Theory of Everything, and Blank on Blank, which collectively reach several million listeners. With the runaway success of Serial in the past year, podcasts have hit a tipping point, and PRX is well positioned to harness this new energy and excitement. This project has the potential to engage an entirely new community of science storytellers, while advancing public understanding of science among the next generation of listeners.

    To support PRX in a three-pronged approach to expand science-themed audio content for radio broadcast, podcast, and video

    More
  • grantee: Astrophysical Research Consortium
    amount: $700,000
    city: Seattle, WA
    year: 2015

    To increase the number of underrepresented minority students in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV (SDSS-IV) collaboration through the development and implementation of a Faculty-and-Student Team (FAST) program and a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Sloan Digital Sky Survey
    • Investigator Michael Blanton

    Funds from this grant support two projects that aim to increase the participation of underrepresented minority (URM) students in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey collaboration. The first, the Faculty and Student Team (FAST) program creates research teams led by a faculty member and comprised of at least one URM graduate student and/or two to three advanced URM undergraduate students. Each FAST unit (faculty and students) is subsequently linked with a research team at a formal SDSS participating institution; the research team will help integrate them into the collaboration, providing a kind of double mentoring system: the SDSS institution mentors the URM FAST team, and the faculty lead mentors the participating URM students on the team. The goal is to provide these URM students with training and guidance within SDSS, anticipating that they will eventually transition to an astronomy Ph.D. program at an SDSS member university.  The second supported project is a distributed summer program that will provide research experiences for minority undergraduates. The 10-week program, to be run by New Mexico State University, will bring interested URM students from non-SDSS institutions to the home institution of SDSS researchers to facilitate one-on-one mentoring and exposure to the global SDSS collaboration. In addition to their direct SDSS mentor, students would have regular virtual check-ins with the other participants, an in-person kick-off meeting, and a culminating research meeting, likely held in conjunction with a formal SDSS collaboration meeting. Over time, the FAST and summer research programs have the potential to increase the participation of underrepresented minority doctoral students in astronomy programs nationwide.

    To increase the number of underrepresented minority students in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV (SDSS-IV) collaboration through the development and implementation of a Faculty-and-Student Team (FAST) program and a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program

    More
  • grantee: University of Pennsylvania
    amount: $332,457
    city: Philadelphia, PA
    year: 2015

    To establish the Macro Finance Society as a catalyst, forum, and disseminator for research by macro and financial economists

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Economic Implications of the Great Recession (EIGR)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Nikolai Roussanov

    Funds from this grant continue support to the Macro Finance Society (MFS) a group of prominent scholars in economics and finance who first came together in 2013 to advance the development of macroeconomic models that incorporate our best thinking about the interaction between the real economy and the financial sector. Grant funds will support a host of related activities over the next two years, including a series of biannual workshops and associated outreach activities, the development of a lasting repository for relevant data and code, the creation of a long-term financial sustainability plan for the society, and operational funds to offset the professional research and travel of members.

    To establish the Macro Finance Society as a catalyst, forum, and disseminator for research by macro and financial economists

    More
  • grantee: National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, Inc.
    amount: $2,000,000
    city: White Plains, NY
    year: 2015

    To provide $2 million for three awards to new University Centers of Exemplary Mentoring (UCEMs) in the Sloan Minority Ph.D. Program

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Christopher Smith

    Funds from this grant support the establishment of three University Centers of Exemplary Mentoring: one at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; one at the University of California, San Diego; and one at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. These centers will aim to increase the diversity of underrepresented minorities in STEM graduate education through providing fellowships, peer and faculty mentoring, professional development, and various other services to STEM graduate students from traditionally underrepresented groups. Together, the three new grants will fund $40,000 scholarships to 61 Sloan UCEM Scholars over the course of three years. In addition, the three universities will provide full packages (tuition, stipend, fees) to these 61 UCEM Scholars and to 61 UCEM Institutional Match (IM) students. Additional funds will support a host of activities at the UCEMs aimed at helping minority students succeed in their graduate studies. The National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering administers the program, disburses funds to the Sloan UCEM Scholars and universities, reports on student progress and finances, and monitors and enforces policies on student eligibility, nomination, expenditure rules, and time-to-degree expectations.

    To provide $2 million for three awards to new University Centers of Exemplary Mentoring (UCEMs) in the Sloan Minority Ph.D. Program

    More
  • grantee: Fund for the City of New York
    amount: $780,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2015

    To provide partial support for the Sloan Public Service Awards program

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Mary McCormick

    Each year since 1973, the Sloan Public Service Awards have recognized six outstanding civil servants out of the hundreds of thousands of people who work for New York City government. The Fund for the City of New York manages the nomination and selection process and refers to the awards as “the Nobel Prizes of Government…, the highest award that can be bestowed upon a New York City public servant.” Nominated by their colleagues and selected by a blue-ribbon panel of distinguished New Yorkers, each of the six winners receives a $10,000 cash prize and is honored at individual celebrations at their workplaces and at a city-wide celebration presided over by the Mayor. This grant provides three years of continued support for the Sloan Public Service Awards.

    To provide partial support for the Sloan Public Service Awards program

    More
  • grantee: Southern Regional Education Board
    amount: $999,645
    city: Atlanta, GA
    year: 2015

    To provide Sloan Scholars and program directors in its Minority Ph.D. Program access and services at the annual meetings of SREB’s Institute for Teaching and Mentoring

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Ansley Abraham

    The Doctoral Scholars Program (DSP) of the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) sponsors the Compact for Faculty Diversity’s Institute for Teaching and Mentoring (Institute), the largest gathering of minority doctoral students in the country. The yearly institute brings minority students together to help provide young scholars with the resources they need to succeed in graduate study and in their future careers in academia. In addition, the Institute provides scholars opportunities to meet one another, share knowledge, and discuss common problems and strategies to overcome them. The gathering is an effective and efficient gathering point for all those in the Sloan Minority Ph.D. (MPHD) program, including Sloan Scholars, program directors, program administrators, and faculty, as well as staff from Sloan and its administrative partners: the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering and the Social Sciences Research Council. The number of Sloan participants has grown to over 15 percent of total attendees in the past three years, and the Institute totals now routinely exceed 1,000 per year. This grant provides four years of support to the Southern Regional Education Board to defray costs associated with hosting the Institute.

    To provide Sloan Scholars and program directors in its Minority Ph.D. Program access and services at the annual meetings of SREB’s Institute for Teaching and Mentoring

    More
  • grantee: Harvard University
    amount: $1,594,609
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2015

    To increase both the number of minority students entering top Ph.D. programs in economics and economics?related fields and the diversity of the economics faculties and work force

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Sheila Thomas

    This grant supports a project by Harvard University’s Department of Economics, in partnership with the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) and economists in other Harvard schools (e.g., the Kennedy School of Government and the School of Public Health), to support 24 “student-years-worth” of post-baccalaureate training in mathematics and economics for very promising underrepresented minority (URM) students. Resources available to students through the program will include a paid research assistant position with a participating Harvard faculty member, up to four courses per year of undergraduate or graduate coursework, access to one of the math boot camps taken by entering graduate students in Harvard’s economics Ph.D. program, support for GRE preparation, travel funds to attend conferences; and peer and faculty mentoring. The project aims to increase the number of Ph.D. graduates in economics and related fields by 8 to 10 percent, and to serve as a model for other universities and institutions interested in increasing the representation of minorities within economics or other scientific fields.

    To increase both the number of minority students entering top Ph.D. programs in economics and economics?related fields and the diversity of the economics faculties and work force

    More
  • grantee: Council for Economic Education
    amount: $163,980
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2015

    To promote economics education in New York area schools by recognizing innovative teachers and promoting their methods

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Christopher Caltabiano

    This grant provides two years of continued support for the administration of the Sloan Teaching Champion Awards, an annual awards program run by the Council for Economic Education that recognizes outstanding financial and economics education by secondary school teachers in the New York City metropolitan area. Winners are selected by an independent committee based on a number of diverse factors, including their effectiveness, creativity, and success in motivating underserved students. Winners receive a $5,000 cash prize, $2,500 to be used to augment economic education programs at their respective schools, and are honored at a high-profile event in New York City.

    To promote economics education in New York area schools by recognizing innovative teachers and promoting their methods

    More
  • grantee: Stanford University
    amount: $495,647
    city: Stanford, CA
    year: 2015

    To develop new empirical methods and use new “big data” resources for assessing the performance of Medicare and Medicare Advantage insurance plans

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Jay Bhattacharya

    This grant supports a research project by economists Jay Battacharya (Stanford Medical School), Jon Levin (Stanford), Liran Einav (Stanford), and Amy Finkelstein (MIT) to use newly available datasets to compare the cost and performance of Medicare and Medicare Advantage to private insurance plans that cover similarly situated consumers. The team will examine a broad range of questions relevant to health care policy by comparing data on public insurance plan performance provided by the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services with newly available data on private plan performance compiled by the Health Care Cost Institute. Issues to be examined include the differences in health care costs, services, and prices in public and private plans; what features of public or private plan structure account for these differences; and whether private insurance plans can or do deliver comparable outcomes to Medicare at lower costs.

    To develop new empirical methods and use new “big data” resources for assessing the performance of Medicare and Medicare Advantage insurance plans

    More
  • grantee: Cornell University
    amount: $535,970
    city: Ithaca, NY
    year: 2015

    To study the economics of socially efficient protocols for managing research databases containing private information

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator John Abowd

    Any given research protocol entails a trade-off between privacy and accuracy. At one extreme, locking up data so no one can use it gives privacy but no accuracy or utility. At the other, fully open data provides plenty of accuracy and utility, but no privacy. In between are other protocols—like ones using fully homomorphic encryption, multiparty secure computation, or differential privacy—that provide differing combinations of accuracy and privacy. Together, one can imagine all these protocols forming a production possibility set. This grant supports a project by Cornell economist John Abowd to characterize the “efficient frontier” of such protocols. These are ones with the property that no other conceivable protocol could deliver more accuracy without sacrificing some privacy, or more privacy without sacrificing some accuracy. After assembling a library of such protocols, Abowd and his team will explore and measure public attitudes among these protocols and the tradeoffs, helping us understand public preferences toward the tradeoffs between accuracy and privacy.

    To study the economics of socially efficient protocols for managing research databases containing private information

    More
  • grantee: Creative Visions
    amount: $866,281
    city: Malibu, CA
    year: 2015

    To produce an American Masters' documentary for PBS on the remarkable life and scientific achievements of Hollywood actress, Hedy Lamarr

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Television
    • Investigator Trevor Hall

    The grant funds a collaboration between PBS's American Masters series and Reframed Pictures, a new production company founded by actress Susan Sarandon, to produce a 90-minute documentary about Hedy Lamarr. The show, with Richard Rhodes as the primary technology advisor and Rhodes's Sloan-supported book Hedy's Folly as the primary text, will focus on Lamarr's pioneering invention of frequency hopping—the basis for cell phones, GPS, and Wi-Fi technology—as well as Lamarr's colorful life and her renown as a glamorous Hollywood actress whose fame and beauty obscured her landmark contributions as an inventor.

    To produce an American Masters' documentary for PBS on the remarkable life and scientific achievements of Hollywood actress, Hedy Lamarr

    More
  • grantee: WGBH Educational Foundation
    amount: $2,500,000
    city: Boston, MA
    year: 2015

    To produce and broadcast four new documentaries on the role of science and technology in history on PBS's The American Experience

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Television
    • Investigator Mark Samels

    Funds from this grant support the production of four science- and technology-themed documentaries to be broadcast by The American Experience, the longest running and most successful history series on television. Supported episodes include Nikola Tesla, a two-hour special about the visionary inventor of the alternating current electric supply system and radio control technology who forecast the Internet, solar power, and military drones. The documentary will draw on the recently published Sloan-supported biography by Bernard Carlson, which contains original research about Tesla's technological training and a wealth of detail about his endless inventions, both successes and failures; The Race Underground about the great engineering challenge to build the first subway and transform urban transit told via the competition between brothers Henry and William Whitney, one in New York and one in Boston; and The Aeronauts, a fascinating little-known tale of the Air Force researchers and test pilots who paved the way for the U.S. space program by testing the limits of the human body in the upper reaches of the atmosphere. The topic of the fourth show is yet to be determined. Additional grant funds will support marketing, advertising, and promotion of the episodes, both on air and online; an active social media campaign; and targeted outreach to communities and organizations with a specific interest in these subjects.

    To produce and broadcast four new documentaries on the role of science and technology in history on PBS's The American Experience

    More
  • grantee: The Miami Foundation Inc
    amount: $640,000
    city: Miami, FL
    year: 2015

    To support continued development of the Dat platform for data management as well as targeted outreach to the natural and social science research community

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Max Ogden

    This grant continues support for the development of Dat, a software platform for the versioning and management of tabular datasets. Inspired by Git, the popular system for version control among distributed software developers, Dat supports the tracking of dataset versions not just at the file level, but at the individual cell level, cataloging cell-by-cell changes to the data. A 2014 grant from the Sloan Foundation has enabled lead developer Max Ogden to move the system from a sketch to a substantial prototype, to ensure that the platform was developed with scientific data in mind, and to launch pilot applications in the sciences using genomic and astronomical data. Funds from this grant will allow Ogden, partnering with Waldo Jaquith of the U.S. Open Data Institute, to move from the current working prototype to a full version 1.0 release. Additional funds support outreach and partnership-building with labs and academic research institutions.

    To support continued development of the Dat platform for data management as well as targeted outreach to the natural and social science research community

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Berkeley
    amount: $1,512,547
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2015

    To support continued development of the Jupyter platform for scientific computing and its developer community

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Fernando Perez

    This grant supports the continued development of the Jupyter Notebook, an open source platform for interactive computing that aims to bring the traditional research notebook into the digital age, enabling researchers to capture, log, and version their work from data collection through stages of cleaning, linking, and preparation all the way to analysis and publication. Grant funds will allow the project, led by physicists-turned-data-scientists Fernando Perez and Brian Granger, to hire a project manager and user interface designer, enhance coordination with the growing community of Juypter volunteer developers, and add new features to the platform, including simultaneous multi-user editing, interactive computing capabilities, and better integration with scholarly publishing systems.

    To support continued development of the Jupyter platform for scientific computing and its developer community

    More
  • grantee: Northern Arizona University
    amount: $239,775
    city: Flagstaff, AZ
    year: 2015

    To develop an interactive text that introduces readers to the core concepts and algorithms of bioinformatics in the context of their implementation and application to real-world problems

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator J. Caporaso

    Funds from this grant will help Greg Caporaso develop an interactive educational text, An Introduction to Applied Bioinformatics (IAB), that will introduce readers to the core concepts and algorithms of bioinformatics. Focusing on applications to real-world problems, the project will produce a set of interactive notebooks that will allow students to learn about the complex computational methods used in modern bioinformatics in an engaging, hands-on fashion using live code that can be altered, tweaked, executed, and adapted to their own research or data. The project represents an innovative experiment in how advances in information technology are opening new frontiers for high-quality education on computational methods.

    To develop an interactive text that introduces readers to the core concepts and algorithms of bioinformatics in the context of their implementation and application to real-world problems

    More
  • grantee: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
    amount: $200,000
    city: Chapel Hill, NC
    year: 2015

    To conduct preliminary research on the impact of moisture in indoor chemistry

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Chemistry of Indoor Environments
    • Investigator Barbara Turpin

    Recent advances in instrumentation have transformed our ability to study chemical reactions and analyze the composition of chemicals in the air. These advances provide an excellent opportunity to expand our understanding of the chemistry of indoor environments. This grant funds a preliminary study by Barbara J. Turpin, a professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, of the impact of moisture on indoor chemistry. Turpin and her team plan to take samples from the air of 10 to 20 occupied homes, treat the samples with indoor oxidants (reactants) such as OH or NO3 radicals, and then monitor the reaction products using a variety of techniques. The study builds on Turpin’s prior work demonstrating that aqueous organic chemistry alters the composition and effects of air pollution outdoors. Turpin expects to produce at least two peer-reviewed articles based on the study, and she and her team will present their findings at national and international meetings. In addition, Turpin will prepare a short report that outlines important research questions and obstacles to be overcome for indoor air chemistry.

    To conduct preliminary research on the impact of moisture in indoor chemistry

    More
  • grantee: Carnegie Institution of Washington
    amount: $1,250,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2015

    To continue to lead the reservoirs and fluxes community of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Erik Hauri

    Funds from this grant provide two years of continued support to the Reservoirs and Fluxes community of the Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO). Questions about quantities and movements of deep carbon are fundamental to the DCO. How much carbon do the core, mantle, and deeper crust contain? Where is it? What mechanisms move carbon within and across Earth’s layers, and what are the rates of these movements? Deep carbon’s movements are also consequential for humanity, as when deep carbon erupts to the surface through volcanoes, or seeps out of the seafloor as hydrocarbons, or belches out when tectonic plates slip across one another, contributing to tsunamis. Now numbering more than 110 members, the Reservoirs and Fluxes community has matured into a set of networks addressing these and other questions, including mysteries of carbon’s most precious form, diamonds. Over the next two years, this international scientific network will focus on making important discoveries across five areas: the degassing of deep carbon through volcanoes; the degassing of deep carbon through tectonic and other diffuse processes; the origin, age, and depth of diamonds and the mineral inclusions within them; the fluid dynamics of carbon transport in volcanoes, and the global circulation of carbon between Earth’s surface and core; and the chemical forms, mineral hosts, and reactions of carbons moving between reservoirs. Supported activities include the establishment of the first global network for direct measurement of Cox flux, production of a database on eruptions and volcanic gases, the construction of an international reference collection of diamonds for research, and the development of new geodynamic models of deep carbon circulation.

    To continue to lead the reservoirs and fluxes community of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    More
  • grantee: Weill Cornell Medical College
    amount: $119,830
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2015

    To support an international consortium of researchers studying the metagenomics of subways and mass transit systems

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Christopher Mason

    To support an international consortium of researchers studying the metagenomics of subways and mass transit systems

    More
  • grantee: New York University
    amount: $40,250
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2015

    To support a workshop and initiate a process for discussion of key cybersecurity issues amongst thought leaders in government, industry, academia, and other sectors

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Nasir Memon

    To support a workshop and initiate a process for discussion of key cybersecurity issues amongst thought leaders in government, industry, academia, and other sectors

    More
  • grantee: Technology Affinity Group
    amount: $5,000
    city: Wayne, PA
    year: 2015

    For 2015 Membership Dues

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Lisa Pool

    For 2015 Membership Dues

    More
  • grantee: University of Colorado, Boulder
    amount: $124,856
    city: Boulder, CO
    year: 2015

    To compile case studies of strategies and demand for stewardship of digital research data

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Myron Gutmann

    To compile case studies of strategies and demand for stewardship of digital research data

    More
  • grantee: American Astronomical Society
    amount: $19,775
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2015

    To support a planning meeting on the integration of software repositories with the publication record

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Julie Steffen

    To support a planning meeting on the integration of software repositories with the publication record

    More
  • grantee: NumFOCUS
    amount: $20,000
    city: Austin, TX
    year: 2015

    To support travel by students and junior faculty to a workshop focused on the development scientific software in the R statistical computing language

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Karthik Ram

    To support travel by students and junior faculty to a workshop focused on the development scientific software in the R statistical computing language

    More
  • grantee: University of Michigan
    amount: $10,000
    city: Ann Arbor, MI
    year: 2015

    To foster the development and interaction of the scientific and professional communities working the analysis of extreme values and events

    • Program Science
    • Investigator Stilian Stoev

    To foster the development and interaction of the scientific and professional communities working the analysis of extreme values and events

    More
  • grantee: Colorado State University Foundation
    amount: $63,773
    city: Fort Collins, CO
    year: 2015

    To analyze existing data linked from two sources, the Health and Retirement Study and the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) database, to study two novel research questions regarding workers’ perceptions of their work ability (i.e., job-related functional capacity)

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Gwenith Fisher

    To analyze existing data linked from two sources, the Health and Retirement Study and the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) database, to study two novel research questions regarding workers’ perceptions of their work ability (i.e., job-related functional capacity)

    More
  • grantee: The Aspen Institute
    amount: $20,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2015

    To support a national Native youth engagement strategy to ensure Native youth have new access to resources and support that help them succeed in higher education, especially making graduate programs more of a reality

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Erin Bailey

    To support a national Native youth engagement strategy to ensure Native youth have new access to resources and support that help them succeed in higher education, especially making graduate programs more of a reality

    More
  • grantee: Foundation Center
    amount: $75,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2015

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Bradford Smith

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    More
  • grantee: Columbia University
    amount: $43,767
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2015

    To develop new statistical methods for improving the design, analysis, and efficiency of randomized experiments and observational studies of causal effects

    • Program Science
    • Investigator Jose Zubizarreta

    To develop new statistical methods for improving the design, analysis, and efficiency of randomized experiments and observational studies of causal effects

    More
  • grantee: Philanthropy New York
    amount: $28,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2015

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Ronna Brown

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    More
  • grantee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    amount: $124,718
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2015

    To catalogue promising but underfunded opportunities for investing in scientific research

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Economic Analysis of Science and Technology (EAST)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Maria Zuber

    To catalogue promising but underfunded opportunities for investing in scientific research

    More
  • grantee: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    amount: $19,472
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2015

    To support a pre-conference as part of a larger project to better understand the retirement and work prospects of women by connecting events in their early adult lives to their later employment histories

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Claudia Goldin

    To support a pre-conference as part of a larger project to better understand the retirement and work prospects of women by connecting events in their early adult lives to their later employment histories

    More
  • grantee: University of Cincinnati
    amount: $110,000
    city: Cincinnati, OH
    year: 2015

    To support scientific exchange with research groups in Finland and neighboring countries

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Tiina Reponen

    To support scientific exchange with research groups in Finland and neighboring countries

    More
  • grantee: Fedcap Rehabilitation Services Inc
    amount: $124,828
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2015

    To design and pilot a staffing agency focused on placing experienced workers age 55+ in part and full time jobs at market wages and to ensure that the business model for this staffing agency has the potential for achieving solvency within two years

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Lorrie Lutz

    To design and pilot a staffing agency focused on placing experienced workers age 55+ in part and full time jobs at market wages and to ensure that the business model for this staffing agency has the potential for achieving solvency within two years

    More
  • grantee: Harvard University
    amount: $110,130
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2015

    To examine the efficiency, cost effectiveness, and fiscal impacts of implementing multiple, overlapping renewable energy policy instruments

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Joseph Aldy

    To examine the efficiency, cost effectiveness, and fiscal impacts of implementing multiple, overlapping renewable energy policy instruments

    More
  • grantee: University of Colorado, Boulder
    amount: $35,612
    city: Boulder, CO
    year: 2015

    To disseminate key results from the Sloan Microbiology of the Built Environment Program at Healthy Buildings 2015 America

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Shelly Miller

    To disseminate key results from the Sloan Microbiology of the Built Environment Program at Healthy Buildings 2015 America

    More
  • grantee: Digital Public Library of America, Inc.
    amount: $124,919
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2015

    To help the DPLA launch a new nationwide service bringing together libraries and publishers to provide children with free ebooks

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Universal Access to Knowledge
    • Investigator Daniel Cohen

    To help the DPLA launch a new nationwide service bringing together libraries and publishers to provide children with free ebooks

    More
  • grantee: University of Iowa
    amount: $105,000
    city: Iowa City, IA
    year: 2015

    To increase the number of students from underrepresented groups who earn doctoral degrees in the mathematical sciences

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Phil Kutzko

    To increase the number of students from underrepresented groups who earn doctoral degrees in the mathematical sciences

    More
  • grantee: Hypothesis Project
    amount: $20,000
    city: San Francisco, CA
    year: 2014

    To partially support the 2015 IAnnotate workshop on current and future directions for web annotation

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Dan Whaley

    To partially support the 2015 IAnnotate workshop on current and future directions for web annotation

    More
  • grantee: Yale University
    amount: $25,000
    city: New Haven, CT
    year: 2014

    As support for supplementary images, drawings and video in an interdisciplinary course book on physics and dance

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Emily Coates

    As support for supplementary images, drawings and video in an interdisciplinary course book on physics and dance

    More
  • grantee: Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association Inc.
    amount: $500,000
    city: Arlington, VA
    year: 2014

    To increase coverage of the NewsHour’s Making Sen$e program by one-third and make it a weekly broadcast with a designated regular time slot

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Television
    • Investigator Sara Just

    This grant provides continued support to the Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association, producer of the PBS NewsHour, for the production and broadcast of a recurring series of high-quality segments on economic and financial topics. Funds support the production of 52 segments per year, to be produced by NewsHour reporter Paul Solman and broadcast weekly on a regular schedule.  Additional funds support the creation of supplementary economic materials for the NewsHour website.

    To increase coverage of the NewsHour’s Making Sen$e program by one-third and make it a weekly broadcast with a designated regular time slot

    More
  • grantee: Indiana University
    amount: $748,000
    city: Bloomington, IN
    year: 2014

    To fund early career fellowships that support work with the Research Data Alliance on projects that promote data sharing

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Beth Plale

    Funds from this grant provide three years of support for the expansion of a fellowship program hosted by the Research Data Alliance (RDA), an international community organization of researchers and innovators who have come together to build the social and technical infrastructure need to enable the open sharing of data. These fellowships offer summer funding and travel support to graduate students and postdocs with data science skills or training who will assist RDA’s various working groups on one or more specific projects.  To ensure that projects are aligned with each fellow’s primary work, the application process requires nomination by a candidate’s advisor or supervisor.  Sloan Foundation funds will support 30 fellows over the next three years.

    To fund early career fellowships that support work with the Research Data Alliance on projects that promote data sharing

    More
  • grantee: Computing Research Association
    amount: $20,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2014

    To provide support enabling approximately 16 PhD graduate students to attend the 2015 CRA-­Women Grad Cohort in San Francisco, CA on April 10-11, 2015

    • Program Higher Education
    • Initiative Professional Advancement of Underrepresented Groups
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Kathryn McKinley

    To provide support enabling approximately 16 PhD graduate students to attend the 2015 CRA-­Women Grad Cohort in San Francisco, CA on April 10-11, 2015

    More
  • grantee: Foundation for Earth Science
    amount: $20,000
    city: Raleigh, NC
    year: 2014

    To partially support a workshop on software citation

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Erin Robinson

    To partially support a workshop on software citation

    More
  • grantee: NumFOCUS
    amount: $10,000
    city: Austin, TX
    year: 2014

    To partially support a summit of grassroots organizations that foster diversity in the technology sector

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Gregory Wilson

    To partially support a summit of grassroots organizations that foster diversity in the technology sector

    More
  • grantee: David Baron
    amount: $50,000
    city: Boulder, CO
    year: 2014

    To support the research and writing of a book on the 1878 solar eclipse and how it helped create a culture of science in America

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator David Baron

    To support the research and writing of a book on the 1878 solar eclipse and how it helped create a culture of science in America

    More
  • grantee: Maura R. O'Connor
    amount: $13,000
    city: Brooklyn, NY
    year: 2014

    To support a book on the science and ethics of conservation biology with a focus on extinction and de-extinction

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Maura O'Connor

    To support a book on the science and ethics of conservation biology with a focus on extinction and de-extinction

    More
  • grantee: Kevin Davis
    amount: $10,250
    city: Chicago, IL
    year: 2014

    For the research and writing of a book on the intersection of criminal law and neuroscience for a general audience

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Kevin Davis

    For the research and writing of a book on the intersection of criminal law and neuroscience for a general audience

    More
  • grantee: Margot Lee Shetterly
    amount: $50,000
    city: Hampton, VA
    year: 2014

    To support the research and writing of a book on the female African American mathematicians who worked at NASA over six decades

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Margot Shetterly

    To support the research and writing of a book on the female African American mathematicians who worked at NASA over six decades

    More
  • grantee: Julie Wosk
    amount: $4,525
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2014

    To support enhanced illustrations in a print and electronic book about how our changing representation of artificial women reflect both changing technologies and our changing attitudes toward women

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Julie Wosk

    To support enhanced illustrations in a print and electronic book about how our changing representation of artificial women reflect both changing technologies and our changing attitudes toward women

    More
  • grantee: National Academy of Sciences
    amount: $50,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2014

    To provide partial support for a consensus study to evaluate the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) Program

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Paul Beaton

    To provide partial support for a consensus study to evaluate the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) Program

    More
  • grantee: The Phillips Collection
    amount: $75,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2014

    To support an exhibition, public programs, and a book about the mathematical significance of the artist Man Ray's work

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program New Media
    • Investigator Wendy Grossman

    To support an exhibition, public programs, and a book about the mathematical significance of the artist Man Ray's work

    More
  • grantee: Northwestern University
    amount: $15,000
    city: Evanston, IL
    year: 2014

    To partially support the 2015 Computational Sociology Summit

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Brian Uzzi

    To partially support the 2015 Computational Sociology Summit

    More
  • grantee: Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities
    amount: $20,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2014

    To explore innovative and effective ways to engage senior tenure-line faculty in physics and chemistry in pedagogical reform of upper division courses at research high or research very high universities

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Kacy Redd

    To explore innovative and effective ways to engage senior tenure-line faculty in physics and chemistry in pedagogical reform of upper division courses at research high or research very high universities

    More
  • grantee: Columbia University
    amount: $19,385
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2014

    To support a workshop on the history of data science and the use of data in the history of science more broadly

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Matthew Jones

    To support a workshop on the history of data science and the use of data in the history of science more broadly

    More
  • grantee: New York University
    amount: $15,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2014

    To support a workshop and hackathon on crowdfunding and scientific projects

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Nancy Hechinger

    To support a workshop and hackathon on crowdfunding and scientific projects

    More
  • grantee: University of Maryland, College Park
    amount: $19,858
    city: College Park, MD
    year: 2014

    To partially support a meeting to share best practices and opportunities in scholarly crowdsourcing across the sciences and humanities

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Neil Fraistat

    To partially support a meeting to share best practices and opportunities in scholarly crowdsourcing across the sciences and humanities

    More
  • grantee: Stanford University
    amount: $20,000
    city: Stanford, CA
    year: 2014

    To develop and workshop a multidisciplinary research agenda on rethinking regulatory economics

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Behavioral Economics and Household Finance (BEHF)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Margaret Levi

    To develop and workshop a multidisciplinary research agenda on rethinking regulatory economics

    More
  • grantee: FORCE11
    amount: $15,000
    city: San Diego, CA
    year: 2014

    To partially support the 2015 Future of Research Communication and e-Scholarship conference

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Maryann Martone

    To partially support the 2015 Future of Research Communication and e-Scholarship conference

    More
  • grantee: Richard Rhodes
    amount: $125,000
    city: Half Moon Bay, CA
    year: 2014

    To support the research and writing of a book on the history of energy transitions for a general audience to be published by Simon & Schuster

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Richard Rhodes

    To support the research and writing of a book on the history of energy transitions for a general audience to be published by Simon & Schuster

    More
  • grantee: University of Texas, Austin
    amount: $75,000
    city: Austin, TX
    year: 2014

    To enhance analysis of the Marcellus Shale productivity outlook by reducing ranges of uncertainty for geologic mapping and gas production profiles

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Svetlana Ikonnikova

    To enhance analysis of the Marcellus Shale productivity outlook by reducing ranges of uncertainty for geologic mapping and gas production profiles

    More
  • grantee: National Opinion Research Center
    amount: $108,880
    city: Chicago, IL
    year: 2014

    To assess the demand among potential audiences for a Working Longer Resource Center that would catalog, synthesize, and disseminate the body of research on the economics of working longer and the aging work force, making it accessible to those people who are in a position to use the information to assess outcomes for older Americans

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Trevor Tompson

    To assess the demand among potential audiences for a Working Longer Resource Center that would catalog, synthesize, and disseminate the body of research on the economics of working longer and the aging work force, making it accessible to those people who are in a position to use the information to assess outcomes for older Americans

    More
  • grantee: Women Make Movies, Inc.
    amount: $50,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2014

    To support two animated short films about current scientific research that will be distributed on the web

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program New Media
    • Investigator Flora Lichtman

    To support two animated short films about current scientific research that will be distributed on the web

    More
  • grantee: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
    amount: $49,975
    city: Chapel Hill, NC
    year: 2014

    To study the motivation and impact of science philanthropy as practiced by high-net-worth individuals

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Economic Analysis of Science and Technology (EAST)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Maryann Feldman

    To study the motivation and impact of science philanthropy as practiced by high-net-worth individuals

    More
  • grantee: Haverford College
    amount: $98,486
    city: Haverford, PA
    year: 2014

    To teach undergraduate social scientists about integrity, transparency, and reproducibility in empirical research

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Richard Ball

    To teach undergraduate social scientists about integrity, transparency, and reproducibility in empirical research

    More
  • grantee: University of Michigan
    amount: $115,204
    city: Ann Arbor, MI
    year: 2014

    To plan the design and testing of secure multi-party computing systems for the statistical analysis of private data

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator George Alter

    To plan the design and testing of secure multi-party computing systems for the statistical analysis of private data

    More
  • grantee: Philanthropy New York
    amount: $100,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2014

    To fund a new initiative to meet the philanthropic community's needs for the decade to come with enhanced meeting facilities, improved communications and technological capacity, increased programming, deeper public policy engagement, and strengthened fiscal stability in a new era of increased visibility and expectations for the philanthropic sector

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Kathryn O'Neal-Dunham

    To fund a new initiative to meet the philanthropic community's needs for the decade to come with enhanced meeting facilities, improved communications and technological capacity, increased programming, deeper public policy engagement, and strengthened fiscal stability in a new era of increased visibility and expectations for the philanthropic sector

    More
  • grantee: Foundation for Earth Science
    amount: $124,995
    city: Raleigh, NC
    year: 2014

    To explore adoption of RFID tracking at professional society meetings in order to improve the network connections among attendees

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Erin Robinson

    To explore adoption of RFID tracking at professional society meetings in order to improve the network connections among attendees

    More
  • grantee: International Society for Indoor Air Quality and Climate
    amount: $70,000
    city: Santa Cruz, CA
    year: 2014

    To support the Sloan Symposium at Healthy Buildings 2015 Europe

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Hal Levin

    To support the Sloan Symposium at Healthy Buildings 2015 Europe

    More
  • grantee: University of Michigan
    amount: $74,444
    city: Ann Arbor, MI
    year: 2014

    To understand the trend of health and socioeconomic position of early retirees by examining a nationally representative survey of older adults over a 15-year period

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Hwajung Choi

    To understand the trend of health and socioeconomic position of early retirees by examining a nationally representative survey of older adults over a 15-year period

    More
  • grantee: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    amount: $120,557
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2014

    To study the persistence of high-achieving underrepresented minority students in STEM majors at highly-ranked colleges and universities after participation in summer enrichment programs for rising high school seniors and to test novel and cost-effective data collection techniques and a randomized control design

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Joshua Angrist

    To study the persistence of high-achieving underrepresented minority students in STEM majors at highly-ranked colleges and universities after participation in summer enrichment programs for rising high school seniors and to test novel and cost-effective data collection techniques and a randomized control design

    More
  • grantee: Missouri University of Science and Technology
    amount: $34,388
    city: Rolla, MO
    year: 2014

    To provide partial support for a workshop on indoor chemistry

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Chemistry of Indoor Environments
    • Investigator Glenn Morrison

    To provide partial support for a workshop on indoor chemistry

    More
  • grantee: American Geosciences Institute
    amount: $101,375
    city: Alexandria, VA
    year: 2014

    To increase participation of underrepresented minority geoscientists in the Deep Carbon Observatory

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Heather Houlton

    To increase participation of underrepresented minority geoscientists in the Deep Carbon Observatory

    More
  • grantee: Boston College
    amount: $124,950
    city: Chestnut Hill, MA
    year: 2014

    To determine the feasibility of creating a sustainable multidisciplinary aging and work research network

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Jacquelyn James

    To determine the feasibility of creating a sustainable multidisciplinary aging and work research network

    More
  • grantee: University of Texas, Austin
    amount: $50,000
    city: Austin, TX
    year: 2014

    To produce a 5- to 7-minute demo reel and revised treatment for a 6-part PBS series "Energy at the Movies"

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Television
    • Investigator Michael Webber

    To produce a 5- to 7-minute demo reel and revised treatment for a 6-part PBS series "Energy at the Movies"

    More
  • grantee: Open Space Institute
    amount: $20,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2014

    To identify and employ the most appropriate technology to equip the performance space at Riverbank State Park to better serve the Harlem community

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Erik Kulleseid

    To identify and employ the most appropriate technology to equip the performance space at Riverbank State Park to better serve the Harlem community

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Berkeley
    amount: $78,172
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2014

    To conduct a workshop on one of the decadal questions of the Deep Carbon Observatory, “Is the net flux of carbon into or out of Earth?”

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Barbara Romanowicz

    To conduct a workshop on one of the decadal questions of the Deep Carbon Observatory, “Is the net flux of carbon into or out of Earth?”

    More
  • grantee: Industrial Organizational Society, Inc.
    amount: $20,000
    city: East Lansing, MI
    year: 2014

    To support graduate student presentations at the International Industrial Organization Conference

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Joseph Harrington

    To support graduate student presentations at the International Industrial Organization Conference

    More
  • grantee: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
    amount: $75,000
    city: Piscataway, NJ
    year: 2014

    To organize and conduct the second international workshop of early career scientists involved in the Deep Carbon Observatory

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Donato Giovannelli

    To organize and conduct the second international workshop of early career scientists involved in the Deep Carbon Observatory

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Davis
    amount: $120,000
    city: Davis, CA
    year: 2014

    To examine the role of the built environment as a venue for microbial cross inoculation between infants

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Zachery Lewis

    To examine the role of the built environment as a venue for microbial cross inoculation between infants

    More
  • grantee: University of Michigan
    amount: $120,000
    city: Ann Arbor, MI
    year: 2014

    To examine the regulation of the microbial community structures in drinking water, from source to tap

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Sarah Haig

    To examine the regulation of the microbial community structures in drinking water, from source to tap

    More
  • grantee: The Forsyth Institute
    amount: $120,000
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2014

    To examine the microbiomes of indoor track facilities and the runners who train indoors versus outdoors

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Brian Klein

    To examine the microbiomes of indoor track facilities and the runners who train indoors versus outdoors

    More
  • grantee: Syracuse University
    amount: $120,000
    city: Syracuse, NY
    year: 2014

    To understand and control biofilms in the built environment

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Huan Gu

    To understand and control biofilms in the built environment

    More
  • grantee: University of Texas, Austin
    amount: $50,000
    city: Austin, TX
    year: 2014

    To provide partial support to examine the national potential for using flared natural gas to treat wastewater at shale oil production sites

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Michael Webber

    To provide partial support to examine the national potential for using flared natural gas to treat wastewater at shale oil production sites

    More
  • grantee: Adler Planetarium
    amount: $16,380
    city: Chicago, IL
    year: 2014

    To support the dotAstronomy workshop and to explore the extension of its model into other fields

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Robert Simpson

    To support the dotAstronomy workshop and to explore the extension of its model into other fields

    More
  • grantee: Smithsonian Institution
    amount: $599,862
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2014

    To advance jointly the modeling and visualization of deep carbon

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Elizabeth Cottrell

    Funds from this grant support efforts to integrate the various diverse research projects and initiatives of the Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO) through the development of new numerical models and visualizations.  Geologist Elizabeth Cottrell of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History will lead a multidisciplinary team of researchers, technologists, and representatives from each of the DCO’s four scientific directorates to spearhead the collaborative development of new models and visualizations that incorporate the data collected and theoretical insights developed by DCO researchers in the field.  Contrell and her team will convene a workshop of DCO stakeholders to set modeling and visualization priorities, create an introductory visualization of the history of terrestrial vulcanism, and oversee the distribution of a small number of seed grants to stimulate modeling work on projects identified as high priority.  The project promises several benefits, including forcing consistency upon diverse DCO research efforts, revealing gaps in measurement and functional understanding within the DCO community, and spurring new insights and projections. 

    To advance jointly the modeling and visualization of deep carbon

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Irvine
    amount: $793,006
    city: Irvine, CA
    year: 2014

    To engage mathematicians and cryptographers in developing efficient and secure methods of computing on encrypted data

    • Program Science
    • Investigator Alice Silverberg

    This grant funds work by Alice Silverberg of the University of California, Irvine to bring together mathematicians, cryptologists, and computer scientists in a concerted research effort to build on recent breakthroughs in fully homomorphic encryption (FHE).  FHE is a promising new encryption technique that allows accurate computation on encrypted data, allowing third parties to perform calculations on datasets without the need to decrypt them first. Recent mathematical breakthroughs in FHE have shown it to be theoretically possible, though extant techniques are too slow and unwieldy for practical use.  Silverstein’s project will bring attention and intellectual firepower to the issue, in the hopes of eventually crafting more feasible FHE approaches, with consequent benefits for the conduct of privacy-preserving research by allowing scientific analysis of private, proprietary, and otherwise sensitive data.

    To engage mathematicians and cryptographers in developing efficient and secure methods of computing on encrypted data

    More
  • grantee: Harvard University
    amount: $845,000
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2014

    To make empirical research more reliable and replicable by helping academic journals process, publish, and preserve datasets accompanying article submissions

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Gary King

    When researchers share data, their empirical results become more reproducible and more reusable. This, in turn, can accelerate progress while enhancing accountability and transparency. This grant supports efforts by Gary King and Mercи Crosas of the Institute for Quantitative Social Science (IQSS) at Harvard University to facilitate data sharing through continued development of the Dataverse Network (DVN), a leading Harvard-based data repository.  Working with scientists, technologists, and academic publishers, King and Crosas have launched an ambitious project to help academic journals make data submission a fully integrated part of the paper submission process, using the Dataverse infrastructure to store and manipulate data submitted by authors.  Grant funds will support several activities aimed at expanding and improving Dataverse, including convening workshops and conferences with stakeholders to develop uniform standards and protocols, crafting an application programming interface, and developing several “data widgets” that allow real-time manipulation of data uploaded to the system.

    To make empirical research more reliable and replicable by helping academic journals process, publish, and preserve datasets accompanying article submissions

    More
  • grantee: Environmental Defense Fund Incorporated
    amount: $627,125
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2014

    To conduct two scientific research projects on the environmental impacts of shale gas and shale oil exploration by studying wastewater characterization and treatment and examining methane losses from natural gas end users

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Steven Hamburg

    Funds from this grant support a project led by Steven Hamburg of the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) to spearhead the study of two critical topics related to shale oil and gas exploration.  The first is the characterization and treatment of wastewater (“flowback” fluids) resulting from shale gas and shale oil exploration.  The second is the examination of methane emissions from natural gas end users in the industrial, commercial, residential, and transportation sectors.  EDF will organize a several emerging issue workshops that will engage leading researchers in the design of a detailed set of scientific research projects related to wastewater issues and methane emissions from end users resulting in a detailed set of research questions, sampling strategies, project management plans, collaboration agreements, and deliverable expectations.  Additional grant funds will support a set of quick turnaround, small-scale, proof of concept projects to rapidly test the suggested technologies and methodologies that emerge from the workshops.

    To conduct two scientific research projects on the environmental impacts of shale gas and shale oil exploration by studying wastewater characterization and treatment and examining methane losses from natural gas end users

    More
  • grantee: American Mathematical Society
    amount: $139,688
    city: Providence, RI
    year: 2014

    To develop semantic capabilities for open source systems that display mathematics on the World Wide Web

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Donald McClure

    The meaning of mathematical formulae depends on how they are represented and displayed. Mathematical symbols have to be arranged and ordered precisely, lest the meaning of formulae change completely. A poorly placed line break can render a mathematical expression incoherent.  The rise of the internet has made this problem acute.  Major browsers developed by Apple, Google, and Microsoft do not support mathematical content.  As more and more content is accessed on screens, tablet computers, and smart phones, mathematicians need a tool that can rearrange mathematical expressions dynamically without distortion of meaning.  This grant funds efforts by a consortium led by the American Mathematical Society (AMS) to “semantically enrich” MathML, a markup language used by the popular, open source MathJax platform.  The AMS team aims to further develop the MathML language, allowing it to encode information about the meaning of mathematical expressions and how to display them.  If successful, the project would eventually allow browsers to treat mathematical expressions not as uninterpreted strings of symbols, but as contentful expressions whose meaning must be preserved across changes in display.

    To develop semantic capabilities for open source systems that display mathematics on the World Wide Web

    More
  • grantee: American Academy of Arts and Sciences
    amount: $200,000
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2014

    To research the durability and adaptability of energy and environmental policy regulation through five case studies focused on the Clean Air Act

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Ann Carlson

    The Clean Air Act (CAA) serves as one of the main statutes under which the Environmental Protection Agency oversees a broad range of challenges, such as mobile source emissions, air quality, acid rain, and hazardous air pollution.  Better understanding how the CAA can be applied in new contexts is increasingly important given how central this statute has become to the implementation of greenhouse gas control strategies in the United States. This grant provides funds to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences to undertake an in-depth, two-year study looking at the CAA as a model for creating “durable yet flexible” energy and environmental policy.  The first year of the project will involve interdisciplinary research on five different case study applications of the CAA.  The purpose will be to identify and confirm the individual elements that have made the CAA both durable and adaptable since enacted into law nearly 45 years ago.  The second year of the proposed project will then compare these analyses to tease out common “design characteristics” emerging from the case studies.  The research will culminate in a capstone workshop and a companion public event where the results would be widely shared.  In addition, the researchers will produce a set of working papers and articles in peer-reviewed energy and environment journals and make several presentations on their findings to key stakeholders.

    To research the durability and adaptability of energy and environmental policy regulation through five case studies focused on the Clean Air Act

    More
  • grantee: George Mason University
    amount: $481,340
    city: Fairfax, VA
    year: 2014

    To support extensive outreach in conjunction with continued refinement of the PressForward software platform in order to produce curated overlay publications for scientific communities

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Sean Takats

    This grant provides continued support to George Mason University’s Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media for the continued development of PressForward, a software platform that facilitates the creation of “overlay journals,” curated collections of scholarly materials whose contents are drawn not from original submissions, but from existing academic sources.  PressForward journals have the ability to draw material not only from existing online journals, but from the rich landscape of reputable working paper repositories like SSRN, rapid publication venues like PLoSONE, preprint repositories like arXiv, and the untidy world of blogs, posters, and other gray literature. Previous Sloan grants supported the initial development of PressForward and its deployment to a handful of pilot sites.  Funds from this grant support the expansion of the platform, the hiring of an outreach specialist to give presentations and handle online engagement, increased help desk capacity, a summer institute to train potential users, and additional software development as determined through user needs.

    To support extensive outreach in conjunction with continued refinement of the PressForward software platform in order to produce curated overlay publications for scientific communities

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Office of the President
    amount: $266,958
    city: Oakland, CA
    year: 2014

    To promote research data sharing by enhancing the usability (design, functionality, and user experience) of existing community repositories

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Stephen Abrams

    Developed by the California Digital Library (CDL), which serves the entire University of California system, the Data Management Plan (DMP) tool is an open source software platform that allows UC researchers to create and implement data management plans, which are an increasingly ubiquitous requirement of government and private funding for scientific research.  The existence of such platforms reduces the barriers to data sharing, allowing scientists to make their data permanently available in accordance with funder requirements without having to invest significant time, effort, or other resources in the process.  Funds from this grant will allow the CDL, which operates out of the Office of the President, to launch and implement a redesign of the user interface of the Data Management Plan tool.  Using detailed user feedback that is the norm in much for-profit software development, the CDL team will redesign its primary interface using detailed user-experience testing, letting the needs and competencies of actual users drive how the interface works. The result will be a lightweight open source software application that would be accessible initially to the thousands of scientists and researchers employed throughout the University of California system, but which will be generalized enough that it could, in principle, sit in-between users and any data repository.

    To promote research data sharing by enhancing the usability (design, functionality, and user experience) of existing community repositories

    More
  • grantee: Duke University
    amount: $249,951
    city: Durham, NC
    year: 2014

    To continue public finance research to understand comprehensively the key fiscal issues faced by local governments experiencing new or increased shale oil and shale gas development

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Richard Newell

    This grant to Richard Newell at the Duke University Energy Initiative supports the second phase of research focused on documenting and understanding local economic responses to managing shale gas and oil revenues.  Newell’s previous research analyzed the extent to which increased tax receipts are able to cover growing expenditures for municipal services in several municipalities and counties across eight states. This grant will allow Newell to expand his efforts in the states already surveyed and to expand his research to eight additional states, covering every major shale energy producing region in the country. Newell and his team will conduct over 75 on-the-ground structured interviews with local municipal managers, industry stakeholders, and other experts in these states.  They will also collect financial data from local governments and produce a robust economic analysis comparing tax collection and revenue distribution practices.  The expansion of state coverage will also allow the research team to write a set of synthesis reports that compare experiences across the United States.  Finally, Newell and his team also propose to disseminate their research findings broadly in academic and policy settings.

    To continue public finance research to understand comprehensively the key fiscal issues faced by local governments experiencing new or increased shale oil and shale gas development

    More
  • grantee: University of Colorado, Boulder
    amount: $446,000
    city: Boulder, CO
    year: 2014

    To provide renewed support to organize and convene two conferences on the Microbiology of the Built Environment

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Mark Hernandez

    Building a vibrant, multidisciplinary community of researchers working on the microbiology of the built environment requires bringing together a wide range of life scientists (microbiologists, ecologists, mycologists, bioinformaticians, etc.) and building scientists (engineers, architects, aerosol scientists, indoor air quality specialists, etc.)  Funds from this grant support the administrative and organizational costs for two annual meetings of the microbiology of the built environment research community, to be held in 2015 and 2016.  In addition to paper presentations, panels, and plenaries, the conferences will include significant outreach activities targeting younger researchers in an attempt to engage the next generation of researchers in microbial ecology.  Additional grant funds will support a feasibility study to examine ways to make the conference self-sustaining going forward.

    To provide renewed support to organize and convene two conferences on the Microbiology of the Built Environment

    More
  • grantee: University of Texas, Austin
    amount: $169,929
    city: Austin, TX
    year: 2014

    To determine how the microbiome and air quality inside portable classroom buildings are affected by ventilation conditions and building design

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Kerry Kinney

    Nearly one in five Americans spends time in school buildings each school day.  Despite troubling findings that poor indoor air quality can reduce cognitive performance in students, schools are often not well maintained. There are nearly 600,000 portable classrooms, also known as trailers, across the country and, unfortunately, these spaces are plagued with poor ventilation, water intrusion, and high levels of formaldehyde. Funds from this grant support a project by Professor of Engineering Kerry Kinney and colleagues Richard Corsi, Atila Novoselac, and Ying Xu at the University of Texas at Austin to determine how the microbiome and air quality inside portable classroom buildings are affected by ventilation conditions and building design. The proposed project will examine the relationship between the microorganisms and pollutants found inside the actual classroom spaces to those found in the “hidden spaces” (e.g., wall cavities, crawl spaces) within portable classroom buildings, aiming to identify where microbes and other contaminants come from and where they go within the actual classroom and hidden spaces.  The research team will also investigate how positive and negative pressurization from the ventilation systems affects the microbiota and other contaminants in various parts of the portable classroom.

    To determine how the microbiome and air quality inside portable classroom buildings are affected by ventilation conditions and building design

    More
  • grantee: National Academy of Sciences
    amount: $500,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2014

    To provide partial support for a consensus study of the microbiology of the built environment

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Katherine Bowman

    This grant provides partial support for a consensus study and subsequent report by the National Academy of Sciences on the microbiology of the built environment. An ad hoc committee of approximately 12 to 14 experts representing various disciplinary and sectoral perspectives will oversee this 20?month project that will include staff from the National Research Council (NRC), the Institute of Medicine (IOM), and National Academy of Engineering (NAE).  The consensus study will begin with a fact?finding workshop that will bring together key stakeholder communities. The committee will use the information from the workshop as well as from the published literature and other sources to develop their report. They will meet four or five times to gather information and to deliberate about the knowledge gaps identified and the development of a prioritized research plan to address these gaps. The result of the study will be a consensus report that documents the state of knowledge on the microbiome/built environment interface, identifies knowledge gaps, and sets out a list of prioritized areas for future research to address these gaps. The report will be available at no cost as a PDF file on the National Academies’ website. The National Academies plan to disseminate the report’s findings through briefings to the public, sponsors, and professional societies as well as through commentaries, op?ed pieces, and podcasts.

    To provide partial support for a consensus study of the microbiology of the built environment

    More
  • grantee: University of Tulsa
    amount: $390,000
    city: Tulsa, OK
    year: 2014

    To determine how ventilation and cleaning influence the microbial communities in indoor air and on surfaces

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Richard Shaughnessy

    Funds from this grant provide partial support for a study examining Native American students’ exposure to environmental asthma triggers at home and at school and will examine whether cleaning and ventilation interventions will result in fewer asthma symptoms and a decrease in school absences for the students.  Sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the study will conduct microbial sampling of homes and schools in the Cherokee Nation in pursuit of three primary objectives: Determine the impact of building ventilation on the airborne and surface concentrations and community structure of bacteria and fungi; Estimate the impact of cleaning on the microbial profiles present in floor dust samples; Study associations between in?depth microbial measurements based on DNA and the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) measurements, for assessing the effectiveness of surface cleaning. ATP measurements are the “gold standard” for evaluating cleaning in schools, health care settings, and food production facilities. Sloan funds will enable project leader Richard J. Shaughnessy of the University of Tulsa to augment his efforts by adding building science measurements and modern microbial measurements to the research protocols.   The study proposes to develop new findings about the impact of ventilation and cleaning on the microbial profiles found in indoor air, surfaces, and floors. The team will share their results through peer?reviewed journal publications, presentations at national and international conferences, and publications in trade journals aimed at the cleaning and ventilation industries.

    To determine how ventilation and cleaning influence the microbial communities in indoor air and on surfaces

    More
  • grantee: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    amount: $373,750
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2014

    To continue research on facilitating work at older ages, building on a set of studies already completed under a previous grant

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator David Wise

    Funds from this grant provide continued support to the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) in its efforts to lead a network of top economists in the examination of issues related to aging and work and to the barriers to working longer. Led by economist David Wise, this network of scholars has substantial past and ongoing research expertise on health and health trends at older ages, population aging and its implications, the determinants of work and retirement, the incentives in public and employer policies, and the psychosocial factors that influence behavior. Grant funds will help NBER extend the network collaboration by producing at least nine papers focused on how to facilitate work at older ages. Additional topic areas to be addressed include work capacity at older ages; how public and employer benefit policies affect work and retirement; and factors that facilitate work by seniors, such as work environments and job flexibility.

    To continue research on facilitating work at older ages, building on a set of studies already completed under a previous grant

    More
  • grantee: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
    amount: $250,000
    city: Blacksburg, VA
    year: 2014

    To develop new knowledge about how design, operational parameters, and engineering interventions shape the building plumbing microbiome in conventional and green buildings

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Amy Pruden

    Drinking water regulations focus on the water coming out of the water treatment plant, not on the water that comes out of the taps in your home or office. Building (i.e., in-premise) plumbing systems deliver potable water to the tap, shower, and other fixtures. These plumbing systems are a critical component of the built environment because they represent front line human exposure to waterborne microbes, whether harmless or harmful, which can occur via aerosol inhalation, aspiration, skin contact, or ingestion.  Funds from this grant support a series of studies by Amy Pruden and Marc Edwards to develop new knowledge about how design, operational parameters, and engineering interventions shape the premise plumbing microbiome in conventional and green buildings. Pruden and Edwards have four objectives: Evaluate the role of water stagnation time in shaping the premise plumbing microbiome and propensity for opportunistic premise plumbing pathogens to colonize; Characterize the resilience of the microbiome to heat shock or heat interruption and quantify the response of opportunistic premise plumbing pathogens (OPPPs); Resolve the effect of copper and chloramine disinfectants; and Identify key microbial ecological relationships among OPPPs and the broader premise plumbing microbiome, when subject to a range of engineering design and control measures.  Pruden and Edwards plan to share their findings through peer-reviewed papers and presentations at national and international conferences, as well as through a webinar for building and water professionals. Additional grant funds support training for at least three graduate students.

    To develop new knowledge about how design, operational parameters, and engineering interventions shape the building plumbing microbiome in conventional and green buildings

    More
  • grantee: University of Michigan
    amount: $620,292
    city: Ann Arbor, MI
    year: 2014

    To advance measurement of income, work activity, spending, assets, and debt by producing and analyzing a new data infrastructure based on the transactions and balances of individuals and use this infrastructure to study economic behavior and economic well-being of older Americans

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Matthew Shapiro

    Matthew Shapiro and a research team at the University of Michigan and the University of California, Berkeley have successfully completed an innovative, two-year data infrastructure pilot that lays the groundwork for providing invaluable data regarding the real-time financial activities of older Americans as they work, transition into, and complete retirement. The Michigan/Berkeley team relied on data from a mobile payments application, Check (previously known as Pageonce) that integrates individuals’ bank accounts, credit cards, and asset accounts. With this data, the research team developed a data infrastructure that can be used to study individual income paths, consumption patterns, wealth levels, and financial portfolio choices of Americans, with a specific focus in this study on older Americans, more than 40,000 of which are Check users.  Funds from this grant provide continued support for the project, allowing the team to move from pilot to production of the data infrastructure and maintain a panel dataset of the work, income, spending, and balance sheet of a population of approximately one million users.  Subsequent analyses will allow the research team to examine behavior of older Americans as they face labor market transitions, health shocks, and the take up of Social Security; produce time series estimates of income and spending for novel aggregates including, for example, spending and income by age and type; and study the quality of financial decisions among older populations and of behavioral reactions to discrete financial events like income tax refunds. The team has instituted numerous safeguards to ensure the confidentiality and privacy of individual consumer data are strictly protected.

    To advance measurement of income, work activity, spending, assets, and debt by producing and analyzing a new data infrastructure based on the transactions and balances of individuals and use this infrastructure to study economic behavior and economic well-being of older Americans

    More
  • grantee: University of Toronto
    amount: $249,550
    city: Toronto, ON, Canada
    year: 2014

    To determine the impact of moisture on fungal growth on common indoor surfaces

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Jeffrey Siegel

    While it is well known that moisture in buildings is bad for both the structure and the occupants, no one has systematically investigated building material wetness and the associated response of fungal and bacterial communities. This grant supports efforts by Jeffrey Siegel, associate professor of civil engineering at the University of Toronto, in collaboration with J. Gregory Caporaso, assistant professor of biological sciences at Northern Arizona University, to determine the impact of moisture on fungal growth on common indoor surfaces. Sampling microbial community composition on gypsum drywall on three different test scales, Siegel and Caporaso will address how moisture affects microbial growth on common building materials, how different sensors respond to moisture changes in common building materials, which moisture measurements best correlate with changes in microbial communities under various conditions, and which building/materials/moisture factors have the biggest impact on fungal growth and community makeup? The researchers will share their findings through publications in building and life science journals, trade journals, and blog posts and through presentations at national and international meetings.

    To determine the impact of moisture on fungal growth on common indoor surfaces

    More
  • grantee: National Academy of Social Insurance
    amount: $375,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2014

    To help Americans understand how they can enhance their long-term retirement security by delaying Social Security benefits, when feasible

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Virginia Reno

    Recent Sloan-funded work by economist John Shoven of Stanford University demonstrates that, under a wide range of circumstances, healthy Americans would benefit from delaying the age at which they begin taking Social Security benefits.  This grant funds a wide-ranging education campaign by the National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI) to effectively communicate Shoven’s research to the public. Building on its successful, user-friendly toolkit of materials, “Social Security: It Pays to Wait,” NASI will engage in an ambitious campaign to disseminate the toolkit through a multipronged media strategy that will utilize a grassroots outreach campaign composed of a number of well-connected partner organizations, including the Center for Rural Strategies, the National Women’s Law Center, the National Council of La Raza, and the National Urban League.  Grant funds will be used for dissemination, for efforts to deepen NASI’s connections with organizations well positioned to reach older workers, and for improvements to the toolkit based on user feedback.

    To help Americans understand how they can enhance their long-term retirement security by delaying Social Security benefits, when feasible

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Berkeley
    amount: $330,476
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2014

    To understand the microbial community response to water damage in residential buildings

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Rachel Adams

    Funds from this grant support efforts by Rachel Adams at the University of California, Berkeley and Michael Waring, assistant professor of civil, architectural, and environmental engineering at Drexel University, who propose to examine the microbial community response to water damage in residential buildings. Adams and Waring have three objectives: to apply molecular ecological approaches to better understand any changes in microbial biomass and composition that accompany water intrusion into residences; to inform microbial sampling strategies in residential buildings; and to determine community- level patterns for how building conditions/characteristics and microbial community composition are associated. Adams, Waring, and their team will conduct well-replicated surveys of 60 residential units in order to achieve these objectives, studying buildings in Red Hook, Brooklyn that experienced water damage during Superstorm Sandy in October 2012, as well as similar, though undamaged buildings, on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.  Over a period of three to four weeks, they plan to make continuous measurements of indoor and outdoor temperature, relative and absolute humidity, light intensity, HVAC system activity, and integrated PM2.5 and PM10 measurements. They will then characterize the microbial community composition in both time-integrated and discrete-time-period samples. Data collected will permit the team to analyze the variation in microbial community composition associated with building characteristics and operation, geographic location, and the extent of water damage. Findings will be shared through peer-reviewed publications, presentations at scientific conferences, articles in trade journals, and blog posts. The team also plans to write one article for a lay audience.

    To understand the microbial community response to water damage in residential buildings

    More
  • grantee: RAND Corporation
    amount: $378,666
    city: Santa Monica, CA
    year: 2014

    To investigate the role of psychological factors in individuals’ planning and subsequent decisions about the timing and staging of their transition from work to retirement

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Andrew Parker

    This grant funds a project by economist Susan Rohwedder of the RAND Corporation to examine the psychological factors in individuals’ planning and subsequent decisions about the timing and staging of their decisions to work beyond conventional retirement age and how and when to transition from work to retirement.  Rohwedder and her team will investigate whether and to what extent psychological factors such as cognitive abilities, beliefs about the future, and personality explain differences in individuals’ staging and timing of late-in-life work decisions and subsequent retirement. While psychological factors have been shown to play an important role in various domains of individual decision-making, they have received little attention so far in the context of the complex decisions involved in late-in-life work choices and retirement transitions. Bringing together a cross-disciplinary team with expertise in cognitive psychology and classical and behavioral economics, they hope to fill this gap.

    To investigate the role of psychological factors in individuals’ planning and subsequent decisions about the timing and staging of their transition from work to retirement

    More
  • grantee: New York Botanical Garden
    amount: $1,155,244
    city: Bronx, NY
    year: 2014

    As support for the New York Botanical Garden to digitize 20,000 plant species records and to become a major Content Hub for the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA), while co-heading World Flora Online, the first complete online scientific resource for all Earth's 350,000 plant species

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Universal Access to Knowledge
    • Investigator WIlliam Thomas

    Though plants have enormous value for society in terms of food, medicine, the environment, and economics, and hold significant social and cultural value, no single site provides accurate, comprehensive, and open access data on the known species of flowering plants.  This grant to the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) supports its efforts become one of four lead international institutions spearheading the creation of World Flora Online (WFO), the first open access, online resource for accurate and comprehensive information for all of Earth's 350,000 known plant species.  NYBG will also become one of a dozen major content hubs for the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA), making available not only its first 20,000 plant species records and all 85,000 records when completed, but also depositing over a million existing plant specimen records in DPLA's index, a 15 percent increase in DPLA's current holdings.

    As support for the New York Botanical Garden to digitize 20,000 plant species records and to become a major Content Hub for the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA), while co-heading World Flora Online, the first complete online scientific resource for all Earth's 350,000 plant species

    More
  • grantee: The Brookings Institution
    amount: $600,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2014

    To present accessible, reliable, and influential research through the Brookings Papers on Economic Activity

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Behavioral Economics and Household Finance (BEHF)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Justin Wolfers

    This grant provides continued support for the Brookings Papers on Economic Activity (BPEA) a series of conferences and journals that serve as premier outlets for impartial, nonpartisan, policy-relevant economic research. Over the next three years, grant funds will support organizational and administrative costs associated with the BPEA, including biannual meetings, commissioned papers, and a “Living Papers” series that allows research results to be updated in real time as new data becomes available.  Potential topics to be covered include household finance, macroeconomic dynamics, quantitative easing, and macroprudential regulation.

    To present accessible, reliable, and influential research through the Brookings Papers on Economic Activity

    More
  • grantee: University of Michigan
    amount: $999,785
    city: Ann Arbor, MI
    year: 2014

    To establish an independent, scientific, and comprehensive source of detailed information about the results of public and private investments in science

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Economic Analysis of Science and Technology (EAST)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Jason Owen-Smith

    If those who discover new ideas could appropriate all the benefits, then, at least in principle, market mechanisms could efficiently determine investments in science. But private and collective incentives diverge in the presence of externalities. We just do not know in advance where, when, or for whom research results will become valuable. Because predicting or charging for such applications can be difficult, markets tend to underallocate and misallocate support for basic research. This grant funds research by a team led by Jason Owen-Smith to examine the return to investments in basic science by tracking how research grants eventually do and do not result in gainful applications. To collect, process, and study the detailed data necessary for carrying this out, Owen-Smith and his colleagues will establish an Institute for Research on Innovation and Science (IRIS) based at the University of Michigan.  Foundation funds will support data infrastructure at the University of Michigan, as well as infrastructure at the University of Chicago and Ohio State.

    To establish an independent, scientific, and comprehensive source of detailed information about the results of public and private investments in science

    More
  • grantee: University of Pennsylvania
    amount: $275,527
    city: Philadelphia, PA
    year: 2014

    To study how knowledge generated by research and development spills over through innovation networks

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Economic Analysis of Science and Technology (EAST)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Ufuk Akcigit

    If those who discover new ideas could appropriate all the benefits, then, at least in principle, market mechanisms could efficiently determine investments in science. But private and collective incentives diverge in the presence of externalities. We just do not know in advance where, when, or for whom research results will become valuable. Because predicting or charging for such applications can be difficult, markets tend to underallocate and misallocate support for basic research. This grant supports efforts by economists Ufuk Akcigit of the University of Pennsylvania and Daron Acemoglu of Harvard University to study economic spillover effects associated with technological progress through the examination and modeling of innovation networks.  Using patent, citation, and other data, the team will construct new theoretical models of innovation spillovers, conduct detailed empirical analyses, and evaluate the counterfactual effects of various innovation policies.  Additional topics to be studied include the role of innovation policy in an open economy; the roots of major real-world innovations that led to significant spillovers; and the role networks play among inventors and financial institutions in generating spillovers.

    To study how knowledge generated by research and development spills over through innovation networks

    More
  • grantee: Astrophysical Research Consortium
    amount: $3,500,000
    city: Seattle, WA
    year: 2014

    To support the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV to design, build, and install an infrared astronomical spectrograph for the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment 2 (APOGEE-2) at the du Pont Telescope in Las Campanas, Chile in order to study the history and formation of the Milky Way galaxy

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Sloan Digital Sky Survey
    • Investigator Michael Blanton

    This grant provides support for the construction, installation, and deployment of an infrared spectrograph for use by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) to study star formation in the Milky Way.  The instrument, to be installed on the du Pont Telescope in Las Campanas, Chile, is identical to one already constructed and installed on the Sloan Telescope at Apache Point Observatory in New Mexico, the SDSS’s primary observational instrument.  The new spectrograph, installed in the southern hemisphere, will allow SDSS researchers, working in collaboration with their Chilean colleagues, to make parallel observations both north and south of the equator, quadrupling the number of observable stars and exposing sections of the inner Milky Way unviewable from the north.  The project also promises to be a productive collaboration between American and Chilean astronomers, with nearly 20 Chilean scientists and engineers from multiple institutions directly involved in the installation and operation of the instrument.

    To support the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV to design, build, and install an infrared astronomical spectrograph for the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment 2 (APOGEE-2) at the du Pont Telescope in Las Campanas, Chile in order to study the history and formation of the Milky Way galaxy

    More
  • grantee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    amount: $868,954
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2014

    To develop tools that are computationally, administratively, and legally practical for conducting privacy preserving research on social science datasets

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Micah Altman

    This grant funds efforts by Micah Altman of MIT and Salil Vadhan of Harvard to develop practical tools that researchers and repositories can use to process private and proprietary data. The goal of the project is to provide workable procedures that improve the accessibility, reproducibility, and confidentiality of “big data” produced from a variety of sources.  Potential outputs include templates for legal agreements as well as software for depositing and accessing sensitive information. In addition, Altman, Vadhan, and their team plan to analyze the incentives and constraints on players throughout the system—from research funders to university administrators, and from potential data providers to academic publishers. For social scientists, working with personally identifiable data poses significant technical, administrative, and legal challenges.  Though the big data era has made these challenges increasingly ubiquitous, there is hardly anywhere to turn for reliable standards, precedents, or guidance.  This project aims to help rectify that pressing problem.

    To develop tools that are computationally, administratively, and legally practical for conducting privacy preserving research on social science datasets

    More
  • grantee: WNET
    amount: $1,000,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2014

    To produce ten hour-long episodes on "Brain Science and Society" co-hosted by Charlie Rose and Eric Kandel, to be broadcast on PBS and Bloomberg and made available online

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Television
    • Investigator Charlie Rose

    This grant provides funds for a new series, to be broadcast on PBS and Bloomberg Television, that will focus on the relationship between brain science and society.  To be hosted by award?winning journalist Charlie Rose and Nobel-winning biologist Eric Kandel, the new series will focus on a wide range of social issues connected with brain science, showing how much or how little the latest advances in neuroscience can help us understand our behavior. Topics will include aggression and the social amplification of violence; gender identity and gender-related differences in cognitive function; psychiatric disorders such as autism, schizophrenia, and eating disorders; the inheritance of acquired traits and the impact of growing up in adverse circumstances; the consequences of sports-induced head trauma; brain science and criminal justice; erasing traumatic memories; aging populations and brain function; and genetic counseling for neurological and psychiatric disorders.  The series will consist of 10, hour-long episodes with each episode featuring a panel of four-to-five experts in roundtable discussion.

    To produce ten hour-long episodes on "Brain Science and Society" co-hosted by Charlie Rose and Eric Kandel, to be broadcast on PBS and Bloomberg and made available online

    More
  • grantee: CUNY TV Foundation
    amount: $457,200
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2014

    To pilot a 13-part TV series co-hosted by a  journalist and a scientist that reviews the latest movies and television shows, with an emphasis on the science angle

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Television
    • Investigator Robert Isaacson

    Funds from this grant provide partial support for the pilot season of a new series, Science at the Movies, which will review the scientific content and characters of the films, television, and other entertainment media.  To be produced by CUNY TV and co-hosted by a team of one scientist and one journalist, the 13-episode, half-hour series aims to attract the general film?loving audience while casting a fun and friendly light on the scientific and technological content or the scientific implications, violations, or validations of popular entertainment.  Topics will include how the lives and work of real scientists differ from on-screen portrayals on screen, and how elements of science and technology underlie both everyday events and the most dramatic or comedic activities.  The show will air on CUNY TV and be offered for national distribution to PBS affiliates.

    To pilot a 13-part TV series co-hosted by a  journalist and a scientist that reviews the latest movies and television shows, with an emphasis on the science angle

    More
  • grantee: L.A. Theatre Works
    amount: $500,000
    city: Venice, CA
    year: 2014

    To record four new science-themed Sloan plays for public radio broadcast and online streaming, to develop new digital products based on previous play recordings and to maximize visibility and access to all science plays for the public, for libraries and for schools

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Theater
    • Investigator Susan Loewenberg

    This grant provides renewed support to L.A. Theatre Works (LATW) for its ongoing efforts to record and disseminate high-quality science plays nationally and internationally.  The LATW features leading actors reading well-produced versions of new and established science-themed plays, including many originally commissioned and produced through the Foundation’s Theater program. Sixteen Foundation-supported plays have been broadcast on public radio and streamed online, with supplementary educational material provided, and then have been disseminated widely to schools and libraries. The current grant will support the recording and dissemination of an additional four Sloan-supported plays.  Each will be broadcast nationally on public radio and streamed online along with previous titles. Individual titles will also be licensed via the Public Radio Exchange (PRX), reaching an estimated 2.5 million people during the grant period.  Additional grant funds will support the expansion of LATW’s mobile app to further engage younger listeners.

    To record four new science-themed Sloan plays for public radio broadcast and online streaming, to develop new digital products based on previous play recordings and to maximize visibility and access to all science plays for the public, for libraries and for schools

    More
  • grantee: National Academy of Sciences
    amount: $92,319
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2014

    To provide partial support for a convocation and dissemination activities on the evidence, models, and implications of replacing standard laboratory courses with discovery-based research courses in the STEM undergraduate curriculum

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Jay Labov

    To provide partial support for a convocation and dissemination activities on the evidence, models, and implications of replacing standard laboratory courses with discovery-based research courses in the STEM undergraduate curriculum

    More
  • grantee: Stanford University
    amount: $45,000
    city: Stanford, CA
    year: 2014

    To support the Program on Energy and Sustainable Development in the organization of a conference titled "The Financialization of Energy and Environmental Markets"

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Frank Wolak

    To support the Program on Energy and Sustainable Development in the organization of a conference titled "The Financialization of Energy and Environmental Markets"

    More
  • grantee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    amount: $60,000
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2014

    To provide final support for the International Nuclear Leadership Education Program (INLEP) to train private and public sector executives from emerging nuclear countries and to become financially self-sustaining over the next year

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Richard Lester

    To provide final support for the International Nuclear Leadership Education Program (INLEP) to train private and public sector executives from emerging nuclear countries and to become financially self-sustaining over the next year

    More
  • grantee: Stanford University
    amount: $10,500
    city: Stanford, CA
    year: 2014

    To support the Precourt Energy Efficiency Center to provide stipends to junior faculty and post-doctoral fellows to attend the 2014 Behavior, Energy, and Climate Change (BECC) Conference in Washington, DC

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator James Sweeney

    To support the Precourt Energy Efficiency Center to provide stipends to junior faculty and post-doctoral fellows to attend the 2014 Behavior, Energy, and Climate Change (BECC) Conference in Washington, DC

    More
  • grantee: Columbia University
    amount: $50,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2014

    To continue support for the Center on Global Energy Policy’s external speaker series to inform public debate about critical energy issues

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Jason Bordoff

    To continue support for the Center on Global Energy Policy’s external speaker series to inform public debate about critical energy issues

    More
  • grantee: Social Science Research Council
    amount: $125,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2014

    To develop plans for a MPHD Alumni Mentoring Network and pilot a limited number of activities and professional development opportunities for graduates of the Minority Ph.D. (MPHD) Program with an initial focus on those who have positions in higher education

    • Program Higher Education
    • Initiative Professional Advancement of Underrepresented Groups
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Mary McDonnell

    To develop plans for a MPHD Alumni Mentoring Network and pilot a limited number of activities and professional development opportunities for graduates of the Minority Ph.D. (MPHD) Program with an initial focus on those who have positions in higher education

    More
  • grantee: Texas A&M University
    amount: $10,000
    city: College Station, TX
    year: 2014

    To plan workshops on implementing, evaluating, and disseminating techniques for active and inquiry-based mathematics learning in higher education

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Ronald Douglas

    To plan workshops on implementing, evaluating, and disseminating techniques for active and inquiry-based mathematics learning in higher education

    More
  • grantee: University of Texas, Austin
    amount: $75,000
    city: Austin, TX
    year: 2014

    To advance use of existing scientific collections for Deep Carbon Observatory projects and curation of samples

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Beverly DeJarnett

    To advance use of existing scientific collections for Deep Carbon Observatory projects and curation of samples

    More
  • grantee: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    amount: $93,150
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2014

    To study productivity in higher education through the analysis of institutions and markets

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Caroline Hoxby

    To study productivity in higher education through the analysis of institutions and markets

    More
  • grantee: GuideStar USA, Inc.
    amount: $7,500
    city: Williamsburg, VA
    year: 2014

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator James Lum

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Berkeley
    amount: $124,992
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2014

    To apply behavioral insights to labor economics, particularly through the design of unemployment insurance schemes

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Behavioral Economics and Household Finance (BEHF)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Stefano DellaVigna

    To apply behavioral insights to labor economics, particularly through the design of unemployment insurance schemes

    More
  • grantee: Mathematical Sciences Research Institute
    amount: $100,000
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2014

    To support a national festival that increases the appreciation of mathematics and mathematical research

    • Program Science
    • Investigator David Eisenbud

    To support a national festival that increases the appreciation of mathematics and mathematical research

    More
  • grantee: Business-Higher Education Forum
    amount: $20,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2014

    To develop the goals, organizational structure, membership, and activities for a New York City Data Science Task Force focused on understanding the regional workforce requirements in data science, and creating or expanding undergraduate educational and research opportunities aligned to these requirements

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Isabel Cardenas-Navia

    To develop the goals, organizational structure, membership, and activities for a New York City Data Science Task Force focused on understanding the regional workforce requirements in data science, and creating or expanding undergraduate educational and research opportunities aligned to these requirements

    More
  • grantee: Princeton University
    amount: $115,000
    city: Princeton, NJ
    year: 2014

    To connect and train graduate students from around the world who are beginning dissertation research on macro-financial models

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Economic Implications of the Great Recession (EIGR)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Markus Brunnermeier

    To connect and train graduate students from around the world who are beginning dissertation research on macro-financial models

    More
  • grantee: University of Minnesota Foundation
    amount: $55,000
    city: Minneapolis, MN
    year: 2014

    To organize a conference by the Heller-Hurwicz Economics Institute to develop the next generation of economic models of climate change

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Varadarajan Chari

    To organize a conference by the Heller-Hurwicz Economics Institute to develop the next generation of economic models of climate change

    More
  • grantee: New York University
    amount: $12,500
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2014

    To organize a roundtable workshop by the Guarini Center on Environmental, Energy & Land Use Law at NYU School of Law to fill a knowledge gap in the United States as to the design, implementation and performance of the United Kingdom’s innovative approach to electricity regulation

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Richard Stewart

    To organize a roundtable workshop by the Guarini Center on Environmental, Energy & Land Use Law at NYU School of Law to fill a knowledge gap in the United States as to the design, implementation and performance of the United Kingdom’s innovative approach to electricity regulation

    More
  • grantee: Library Foundation of Los Angeles
    amount: $20,000
    city: Los Angeles, CA
    year: 2014

    To support a science essay, panels with scientists, and other programs exploring the scientific underpinnings of Homer's The Odyssey, part of a month-long series of programs, lectures, and events using libraries to bring the two cultures of science and the arts together around great works of literature

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program New Media
    • Investigator Kenneth Brecher

    To support a science essay, panels with scientists, and other programs exploring the scientific underpinnings of Homer's The Odyssey, part of a month-long series of programs, lectures, and events using libraries to bring the two cultures of science and the arts together around great works of literature

    More
  • grantee: University of Texas, Austin
    amount: $124,949
    city: Austin, TX
    year: 2014

    To better understand the historical development of IT education in the United States and its role in creating a diverse workforce

    • Program Higher Education
    • Initiative Professional Advancement of Underrepresented Groups
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator William Aspray

    To better understand the historical development of IT education in the United States and its role in creating a diverse workforce

    More
  • grantee: New York University
    amount: $125,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2014

    To provide renewed support for a cyber security lecture series in New York City

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Robert Ubell

    To provide renewed support for a cyber security lecture series in New York City

    More
  • grantee: Colorado State University
    amount: $20,000
    city: Fort Collins, CO
    year: 2014

    To analyze data from the Health and Retirement Study and the Occupational Information Network to study novel research questions regarding workers’ perceptions of their work ability or job-related capacity and labor force participation among older workers

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Gwenith Fisher

    To analyze data from the Health and Retirement Study and the Occupational Information Network to study novel research questions regarding workers’ perceptions of their work ability or job-related capacity and labor force participation among older workers

    More
  • grantee: Harvard University
    amount: $60,000
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2014

    To improve processes for the assessment of social science research related to climate change and communicate the results of assessments effectively to policymakers

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Robert Stavins

    To improve processes for the assessment of social science research related to climate change and communicate the results of assessments effectively to policymakers

    More
  • grantee: University of Massachusetts Medical School
    amount: $97,750
    city: Worcester, MA
    year: 2014

    To conduct a national conference to identify and disseminate generalizable principles, strategies, interventions, and tools that can be used to advance faculty career flexibility in medical schools throughout the career lifecycle from recruitment through retirement

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Luanne Thorndyke

    To conduct a national conference to identify and disseminate generalizable principles, strategies, interventions, and tools that can be used to advance faculty career flexibility in medical schools throughout the career lifecycle from recruitment through retirement

    More
  • grantee: The Graduate Center of The City University of New York
    amount: $112,928
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2014

    To create a profile of older workers in critical unionized industries in New York City and an inventory of the current policies and practices of the unions representing them, in order to assess the extent to which the collective bargaining is - or could become - an effective mechanism for addressing the challenges of the aging workforce

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Ruth Milkman

    To create a profile of older workers in critical unionized industries in New York City and an inventory of the current policies and practices of the unions representing them, in order to assess the extent to which the collective bargaining is - or could become - an effective mechanism for addressing the challenges of the aging workforce

    More
  • grantee: Technology Affinity Group
    amount: $5,000
    city: Wayne, PA
    year: 2014

    For 2014 Membership Dues

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Lisa Pool

    For 2014 Membership Dues

    More
  • grantee: Northwest Michigan Habitat for Humanity
    amount: $5,000
    city: Harbor Springs, MI
    year: 2014

    As a memorial gift in memory of William E. Hoglund, a former Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Trustee

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Lani Laporte

    As a memorial gift in memory of William E. Hoglund, a former Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Trustee

    More
  • grantee: Habitat for Humanity of Collier County
    amount: $5,000
    city: Naples, FL
    year: 2014

    As a memorial gift in memory of William E. Hoglund, a former Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Trustee

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Sam Durso

    As a memorial gift in memory of William E. Hoglund, a former Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Trustee

    More
  • grantee: National Kidney Foundation of Michigan
    amount: $5,000
    city: Ann Arbor, MI
    year: 2014

    As a memorial gift in memory of William E. Hoglund, a former Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Trustee

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Daniel Carney

    As a memorial gift in memory of William E. Hoglund, a former Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Trustee

    More
  • grantee: American Anthropological Association
    amount: $79,986
    city: Arlington, VA
    year: 2014

    To develop an open source platform to manage scholarly book reviews

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Oona Schmid

    To develop an open source platform to manage scholarly book reviews

    More
  • grantee: Association of American Colleges and Universities
    amount: $50,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2014

    To use AAC&U’s Centennial to shine a light on the current deep quality divides and the urgent equity imperative in American higher education—with special attention to the essential learning outcomes and evidence-based high impact teaching and learning practices that work in STEM education

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Bethany Sutton

    To use AAC&U’s Centennial to shine a light on the current deep quality divides and the urgent equity imperative in American higher education—with special attention to the essential learning outcomes and evidence-based high impact teaching and learning practices that work in STEM education

    More
  • grantee: New York Hall of Science
    amount: $75,000
    city: Corona, NY
    year: 2014

    To establish the new Alan J. Friedman Center for the development of young scientists

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Priya Mohabir

    To establish the new Alan J. Friedman Center for the development of young scientists

    More
  • grantee: Manhattan Theatre Club
    amount: $125,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2014

    Production support for Manhattan Theatre Club's science-themed Broadway play Constellations featuring a theoretical physicist as a main character

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Theater
    • Investigator Elizabeth Rothman

    Production support for Manhattan Theatre Club's science-themed Broadway play Constellations featuring a theoretical physicist as a main character

    More
  • grantee: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
    amount: $750,000
    city: Troy, NY
    year: 2014

    To continue to lead the data science and management dimensions of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Peter Fox

    This grant provides continued support to a team led by Peter Fox at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to provide computational and data management services to the Deep Carbon Observatory.  Grant funds support the continued operation and development of deepcarbon.net, which is used to manage the project as a whole, coordinate member activities, and disseminate results both within the DCO and with the wider public.  In addition, the RPI team maintains a state-of-the-art computing cluster used to store and analyze data collected by DCO scientists and to run complicated and data-rich model simulations.  Grant funds provide continued support for these activities as well as additional work designed to lay the groundwork for a “deep carbon virtual observatory” that would exist as a continuing legacy after the DCO has completed its decadal research goals. 

    To continue to lead the data science and management dimensions of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    More
  • grantee: Carnegie Institution of Washington
    amount: $2,250,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2014

    To continue supporting the Deep Carbon Observatory international secretariat

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Robert Hazen

    Funds from this grant provide two years of continued support to the international secretariat of the Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO) as it pursues its 10-year mission to transform our understanding of the sources, forms, and properties of deep Earth carbon and its relation to hydrocarbons and the origins of life.  As the governing body of the DCO, the international secretariat coordinates and oversees the activities of the DCO’s four scientific communities, keeps the larger project on track, sets priorities and standards, helps allocate resources, and aids in project fund raising.  Grant funds provide general support for these activities for the next two years.

    To continue supporting the Deep Carbon Observatory international secretariat

    More
  • grantee: The Conversation
    amount: $400,000
    city: Boston, MA
    year: 2014

    To inform conversations about economics by editing and publishing publicly accessible articles by academics about their research

    • Program Economics
    • Investigator Andrew Jaspan

    Funds from this grant provide two years of administrative and operational support for the business and economics desk of the Conversation U.S., an experimental new platform in journalism.  Based on similar efforts already successfully launched in the United Kingdom and Australia, the Conversation U.S. is an experiment in direct journalism, providing a platform where researchers and experts write public-facing news and analysis pieces themselves, published under their own bylines, which are then edited in collaboration with experienced journalists for clarity and objectivity.  Content produced by the Conversation is released to the public free of intellectual property restrictions and it encourages other sites—even “competitor” news sites—to reuse and repurpose its content.  The project represents a promising response to changing economic prospects in the news industry and facilitates more direct communication between researchers and the public.

    To inform conversations about economics by editing and publishing publicly accessible articles by academics about their research

    More
  • grantee: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    amount: $534,750
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2014

    To study interventions for increasing the number of undergraduate women majoring in economics

    • Program Economics
    • Investigator Claudia Goldin

    The ratio of men to women earning undergraduate degrees in economics is three to one.  This grant funds a project by Harvard economist Claudia Goldin to try to understand why.   Over the next four years, Goldin will pursue three interconnected activities.  The first is analysis of administrative data to better understand gender differences in selecting courses and majors.  The second is convening researchers to coordinate similar research efforts by other scholars and to design interventions aimed at testing hypotheses suggested by the data.  And the third is to run a kind of “randomized controlled trial” by matching baseline economics departments with those that receive financial incentives to use an intervention.  These experiments will provide evidence about whether and to what extent departmental interventions can effectively raise the number of women who major in economics, and may suggest ways to effectively address gender imbalances in other fields.

    To study interventions for increasing the number of undergraduate women majoring in economics

    More
  • grantee: National Academy of Sciences
    amount: $600,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2014

    To sustain and strengthen the Science & Entertainment Exchange and the role of science in Hollywood and provide support and exposure for the Sloan Film Program

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Ann Merchant

    Launched in 2008 by the National Academy of Sciences, the Science & Entertainment Exchange pairs scientists with members of the entertainment industry, giving Hollywood producers, directors, writers, and other filmmaking professionals access to scientific expertise. Through hundreds of film and TV consultations, high-profile events, and “behind-the-scenes” access to scientific venues, the Exchange has successfully worked to enhance and improve the scientific content of many Hollywood productions, from science fiction to action to dramas.  The Exchange has conducted over 800 consultations to date on blockbuster films such as Thor and The Avengers and on TV series such as The Good Wife and The Big Bang Theory. The Exchange works to ensure accuracy when science is used in film, seeds new ideas within the film and television industry, and gives professional science advice.  Funds from this grant provide operating support for The Exchange’s core activities.  Additional funds support the enhancement of The Exchange’s web presence and a planned “signature” networking event to take place in late 2014.

    To sustain and strengthen the Science & Entertainment Exchange and the role of science in Hollywood and provide support and exposure for the Sloan Film Program

    More
  • grantee: Film Independent, Inc.
    amount: $381,053
    city: Los Angeles, CA
    year: 2014

    To support the triennial Sloan Film Summit, a three-day event of screenings, panels, staged readings, project updates, and networking opportunities and community building for Sloan film grantees

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Jennifer Kushner

    Funds from this grant will allow Film Independent (FIND) to host the 2014 Sloan Film Summit, a major convening of all of the Foundation’s film grantees held every three years, from film schools to film festivals, and from film development to film distribution partners. Supported activities at the summit include screenings of short films produced by Sloan-supported student filmmakers, screenplay readings, scientist-filmmaker panels on a variety of topics related to the incorporation of high-quality science into narrative film, updates on the progress of Sloan-supported projects, and networking events with industry insiders.  In addition to events for participants in the Sloan Film program, the summit will also feature three public-facing events: a full day of screenings of completed Sloan feature films followed by Q&A with the filmmakers, the staged readings of select Sloan-winning screenplays, and a high-profile “conversation” that focuses on science and storytelling.

    To support the triennial Sloan Film Summit, a three-day event of screenings, panels, staged readings, project updates, and networking opportunities and community building for Sloan film grantees

    More
  • grantee: Film Independent, Inc.
    amount: $665,995
    city: Los Angeles, CA
    year: 2014

    To provide direct support to develop science and technology scripts through a Producer’s Lab and Fast Track film financing and to start a fund to incentivize distribution of completed Sloan films and other science-worthy features

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Jennifer Kushner

    Funds from this grant support a continuing partnership with Film Independent in its efforts to develop high-quality, science-themed screenplays and support producing teams that can get these films completed.  Grant funds will support a series of incentive awards administered by Film Independent toward this purpose, including a yearly $30,000 award to a producer to develop a science-themed script in FIND’s Producing Lab; a Sloan Fast Track Fellowship to be awarded annually to a producer or producing team and which includes a $20,000 cash grant and participation in the Fast Track film financing market; and an annual $50,000 distribution grant awarded to one exceptional science-themed film a year to incentivize buyers to acquire it for distribution.  Additional grant funds defray the administrative costs of the program and support outreach and publicity efforts aimed at promoting winning projects.

    To provide direct support to develop science and technology scripts through a Producer’s Lab and Fast Track film financing and to start a fund to incentivize distribution of completed Sloan films and other science-worthy features

    More
  • grantee: Hamptons International Film Festival
    amount: $186,467
    city: East Hampton, NY
    year: 2014

    To provide final support toward a program to develop qualifying screenplays towards production and spotlight feature films with science and technology themes and characters at the Hamptons International Film Festival

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Anne Chaisson

    This grant provides one year of continuing support to the Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF) for a series of activities designed to develop and spotlight high-quality films and film scripts that explore science as a theme or that feature scientists, mathematicians, or engineers as major characters.  Supported activities include a feature film prize for the best science-themed film submitted, a high-profile reception celebrating the winning film and filmmaker, a panel discussion featuring filmmakers and working scientists, and a screenwriting workshop to develop two science-themed scripts that will result in a staged reading of those scripts with well-known actors during the festival.  HIFF will also continue its intensive three-week filmmaking workshop at Stony Brook and will also host a tastemaker event in New York City in the weeks following the festival to promote the Sloan-winning film among prominent industry and press.

    To provide final support toward a program to develop qualifying screenplays towards production and spotlight feature films with science and technology themes and characters at the Hamptons International Film Festival

    More
  • grantee: University of Ottawa
    amount: $586,500
    city: Ottawa, ON, Canada
    year: 2014

    To provide renewed support to increase knowledge of fungi in the built environment

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Keith Seifert

    This grant provides two years of continuing support to fungal taxonomists Keith Seifert and Rob Samson for their taxonomy studies of fungi isolated from indoor dust samples from homes on six continents. Over the next two years, Seifert and Samson will complete taxonomic studies of up to 200 new species of fungi isolated from house dust, isolate xerophilic fungi from newly collected samples, and consolidate their data into an openly accessible online database.  The team will share their findings and reference materials through peer-reviewed publications, including a special issue of the leading mycology journal Studies in Mycology, presentations at scholarly meetings, and through the open access database.  At least two postdoctoral fellows, one graduate student, and four undergraduate students will be trained under the grant.

    To provide renewed support to increase knowledge of fungi in the built environment

    More
  • grantee: National Opinion Research Center
    amount: $987,258
    city: Chicago, IL
    year: 2014

    To increase the amount and quality of news coverage on the economics of working longer, by extending the AP-NORC Center's education, research, and public outreach for two additional cycles

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Trevor Tompson

    This grant provides two years of continued support for a partnership between National Opinion Research Center (NORC) and the Associated Press (AP) to marry NORC’s research expertise with AP’s media reach to create a vehicle for promoting public understanding of critical social issues. Funds from this grant will provide two years of salary support to a NORC-AP fellow who will cover the older work force beat, producing thoughtful, scientifically informed, high-quality articles on a variety of issues, including aging and work, retirement, flexible work arrangements for older workers, productivity, and the economic impact of an aging work force on businesses, pensions, and government programs like Social Security.  In addition, NORC will field a high-quality, nationally representative survey of older adults about issues facing older workers with the results distributed nationwide through the AP. Survey reporting will be supplemented with reporting on new economic research on the older work force and survey data will be made freely available to researchers in a public-use dataset.

    To increase the amount and quality of news coverage on the economics of working longer, by extending the AP-NORC Center's education, research, and public outreach for two additional cycles

    More
  • grantee: Boston College
    amount: $498,556
    city: Chestnut Hill, MA
    year: 2014

    To inform decisions that affect the labor force activity, employment opportunities, and retirement security of older Americans, accounting for differences in socio-economic status

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Alicia Munnell

    This grant to Alicia Munnell and her colleagues at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College supports research on the aging work force through the lens of workers’ socio-economic status (SES).  Munnell and her team will launch five integrated projects related to retirement, financial security, and employment opportunities that address the following questions.   How long do people need to work to achieve a financially secure retirement? How would retirement ages vary if they reflected differential mortality by socio-economic status? How does job-changing affect the ability to retire securely? How do job opportunities narrow with age? How much would reducing the price of older workers’ labor increase their attractiveness to employers? The project promises fill significant gaps in our understanding of the older work force.

    To inform decisions that affect the labor force activity, employment opportunities, and retirement security of older Americans, accounting for differences in socio-economic status

    More
  • grantee: Wikimedia Foundation
    amount: $3,000,000
    city: San Francisco, CA
    year: 2014

    As a final grant to bolster Wikipedia’s readership and editors, including more women, expand its mobile presence, and strengthen its technical infrastructure as it moves to self-sustainability

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Universal Access to Knowledge
    • Investigator Lisa Gruwell

    This grant to the Wikimedia Foundation provides continued administrative and operational support for Wikipedia, the fifth largest website in the world and the largest encyclopedia in history.  Over the next five years, grant funds will be used in a series of projects to bolster Wikipedia’s technical infrastructure, improve editor engagement, increase the number of women editors, increase the number of contributions via mobile devices, better integrate multimedia offerings such as video, audio, and photography into Wikipedia pages, and help Wikipedia improve and monitor article quality while moving toward self-sustainability.

    As a final grant to bolster Wikipedia’s readership and editors, including more women, expand its mobile presence, and strengthen its technical infrastructure as it moves to self-sustainability

    More
  • grantee: Princeton University
    amount: $577,544
    city: Princeton, NJ
    year: 2014

    To study how the psychology of scarcity and slack has implications for behavioral and traditional economics

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Behavioral Economics and Household Finance (BEHF)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Eldar Shafir

    Funds from this grant support a series of surveys, tests, and experiments by Princeton behavioral psychologist Eldar Shafir that examine scarcity and its implications for the social and behavioral sciences.  Findings to date suggest that how closely people’s behavior complies with standard economic models of rationality depends interestingly on the constraints they face when making decisions.  Shafir has found that those who are poor (or put into an experimental situation of scarcity) often act more like the rational “homo economicus” posited by normative economic theorists.  In contrast, those who are rich (or who are put into an experimental situation of plenty) often exhibit curious biases and behavioral anomalies that deviate from what standard economic models predict.  Abundance, Shafir’s research suggests, makes inconsistency and irrationality more affordable.  The findings stand in stark contrast to the widespread belief that those in poverty make poor economic decisions.  The truth may be exactly the reverse. This grant will fund the continuation and expansion of Shafir’s research over the next three years, allowing deeper investigation of what factors explain behavioral deviation from traditional economic models and the implication for the design and implementation of policy interventions. 

    To study how the psychology of scarcity and slack has implications for behavioral and traditional economics

    More
  • grantee: Harvard University
    amount: $992,018
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2014

    To promote interdepartmental, intergovernmental, and international cooperation on policy-relevant research by behavioral scientists

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Behavioral Economics and Household Finance (BEHF)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Max Bazerman

    Behavioral economics should have many implications for government policy.  With this motivation, the Prime Minister’s Office in the U.K. established a Behavioral Insights Team (BIT) in 2010 to help bring insights from behavioral economics to the design and evaluation of government policy. The BIT’s successes in a wide variety of areas—from tax collection to energy efficiency to organ donation—have inspired other countries to launch similar initiatives, including Australia, the Netherlands, Israel, and the United States. The academics and government officials leading such efforts have much to gain by comparing notes with one another.  This grant funds a joint effort by David Halpern, head of the BIT in the U.K., and Max Bazerman, head of the Behavioral Insights Group (BIG) at Harvard, to organize a series of meetings, international conferences, and advanced courses that will bring together researchers from all over the globe to exchange the latest insights on the intersection of behavioral research and public policy.

    To promote interdepartmental, intergovernmental, and international cooperation on policy-relevant research by behavioral scientists

    More
  • grantee: New York Public Radio
    amount: $400,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2014

    As support for a health care reporting unit at WNYC, Appointment with Reform, focusing on the economics and policy of our healthcare system and the impact of the Affordable Care Act on consumers in New York

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Radio
    • Investigator Jim Schachter

    Funds from this grant provide support for a project by WNYC to produce a series of radio segments focusing on health care policy and the economics of the health care system in New York as viewed through the lens of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).  Using a mix of personal stories, stakeholder interviews, data news, enterprise reporting, and in-depth conversations on the impact of the ACA, WNYC hopes to make the health care system more transparent to consumers.  The idea is to use this historic, confusing, and still controversial health care Act as a teaching moment for the public and to get at the underlying economics and health care policy that few understand well.  Additional focus will be on advances in medical science and methods that motivate behavior change for healthier living.   WNYC will produce 100 short news reports about the ACA, health care, and health care policy in the New York region for broadcast on programs like Morning Edition and All Things Considered and for follow-up discussion in segments on WNYC signature programs.  They will also produce two one-hour series each year that delve more deeply into topics such as how health care reform is affecting the city’s most vulnerable populations.  In addition, WNYC will launch a new, weekly podcast aimed at prompting healthier consumer behavior and choices, create interactive graphics and charts to make complex health and economic data more accessible, and hold two public events that will allow members of the public to engage with WNYC and policymakers, practitioners, and other experts.

    As support for a health care reporting unit at WNYC, Appointment with Reform, focusing on the economics and policy of our healthcare system and the impact of the Affordable Care Act on consumers in New York

    More
  • grantee: SoundVision Productions
    amount: $789,044
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2014

    To support the radio broadcast of BURN: An Energy Journal to enhance understanding of energy and energy-related issues through public radio specials, podcasts, features for national news shows, and infographics and multimedia online content

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Radio
    • Investigator Bari Scott

    This grant provides support to Bari Scott and SoundVision Productions for the continued production of their popular and ambitious multimedia radio series on energy, BURN: An Energy Journal.  Using grant funds, SoundVision will produce an in-depth one-hour special The Adaptors about energy innovators, entrepreneurs, and average citizens and their creative adaptations to our energy future; a series of at least 12 five- to eight-minute features on energy to air on Marketplace, The World, and All Things Considered; 52 eight- to 15-minute podcasts about energy, distributed via iTunes and Soundcloud; a multimedia website with enhanced information, blogs, maps, infographics, and video science explainers; and 50 to 100 two- to three-minute videos on Soundcloud that will also be posted to YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, and Tumblr.

    To support the radio broadcast of BURN: An Energy Journal to enhance understanding of energy and energy-related issues through public radio specials, podcasts, features for national news shows, and infographics and multimedia online content

    More
  • grantee: National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, Inc.
    amount: $2,071,038
    city: White Plains, NY
    year: 2014

    To provide scholarship funds for the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership (SIGP) for three years, to be managed by the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering

    • Program Higher Education
    • Initiative Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Aileen Walter

    This grant provides scholarship funds for an anticipated 59 master’s and 20 Ph.D. students to be recruited and enrolled over the next three years by the four institutional partners in the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership, a national network of four educational institutions that aim to increase the number of American Indians and Alaska Natives that obtain postgraduate degrees in STEM fields. The following is the expected breakdown of scholarships by campus:  $385,200 to the University of Alaska (Anchorage and Fairbanks); $712,500 to the University of Arizona; $620,000 to the Montana University system; and $353,338 to Purdue University.  Scholarships in the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership are administered and disbursed by the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering.

    To provide scholarship funds for the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership (SIGP) for three years, to be managed by the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering

    More
  • grantee: Purdue University
    amount: $328,961
    city: West Lafayette, IN
    year: 2014

    To increase the number of indigenous Americans obtaining advanced degrees in STEM disciplines and to develop the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership (SIGP) as a national network

    • Program Higher Education
    • Initiative Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Kevin Gibson

    This grant provides support to Purdue University for its administrative, organizational, and infrastructure costs associated with the continued operation of the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership (SIGP), a national network of four universities and university systems that aim to increase the number of indigenous Americans and Alaska Natives that obtain postgraduate degrees in STEM fields.  Over the next three years the SIGP institutions—Purdue University, University of Arizona, the University of Alaska (Anchorage and Fairbanks), and the University of Montana system (University of Montana, Montana Tech, and Montana State University)—plan to recruit 59 talented American Indian or Native Alaska students into STEM master’s programs and 20 students into STEM Ph.D. programs.  Grant funds will support SIGP partner institutions as they engage in various administrative and infrastructure-building activities over the next three years, including community-building; collection, sharing, and analysis of data on student outcomes and programmatic effectiveness; and the launch of a new intercampus student exchange program.  Scholarship funds for students supported through the SIGP program are provided through a separate grant to the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering.

    To increase the number of indigenous Americans obtaining advanced degrees in STEM disciplines and to develop the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership (SIGP) as a national network

    More
  • grantee: National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, Inc.
    amount: $674,737
    city: White Plains, NY
    year: 2014

    To continue managing the Sloan Foundation’s Minority Graduate Scholarship Programs for an additional three years

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Aileen Walter

    This grant provides three years of continuing support to the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering to administer scholarships for graduate students supported through the Foundation’s Minority Ph.D. program and the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership.  Funded activities include the timely execution of scholarship payments, accurate accounting of scholarship disbursements and balances, data collection on supported students, filing regular reports to the Foundation on scholarship disbursements, maintenance of the program’s website and associated forms, and the production of a series of webinars aimed at supported scholars.

    To continue managing the Sloan Foundation’s Minority Graduate Scholarship Programs for an additional three years

    More
  • grantee: The Australian National University
    amount: $583,646
    city: Canberra, Australia
    year: 2014

    To improve teaching and research in quantitative economics through the development of compelling, open, and reproducible models using Python

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator John Stachurski

    In contrast with academics in other fields, economists and other social scientists have been slow to adopt new open source programming languages, instead sticking with expensive proprietary applications like Matlab and STATA when doing modeling or running complex analyses on data.  Because such programs cannot be used without a license, their popularity hamstrings reproducibility, hampers archiving, and hinders reuse of research that employs them. This grant funds efforts by Nobel Prize–winner Tom Sargent of New York University and computational economist John Stachurski of Australian National University to speed the adoption of Python—a compact, powerful open source programming and computation platform—among economists and social scientists.  Funds from this grant will bring Stachurski to NYU for a year to work with Sargent on expanding and promoting the usefulness of Python to economists everywhere.  They will develop free Python modules and teaching materials, publicize the capabilities of the new iPython notebook, give presentations, publish a textbook, and further develop the materials and resources freely available on their website, quant-econ.net.

    To improve teaching and research in quantitative economics through the development of compelling, open, and reproducible models using Python

    More
  • grantee: New York University
    amount: $709,654
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2014

    To identify, motivate, and nurture mathematical talent through after-school activities in New York City's underserved neighborhoods

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Selin Kalaycioglu

    The Center for Mathematical Talent (CMT) was established in 2010 at New York University's prestigious Courant Institute for Mathematics.  Its mission is to identify, motivate, and nurture those underserved and underrepresented students in New York City schools who could excel in mathematics.  This grant provides three years of continued support for the activities of the CMT, including partnering with other educational organizations to set up satellite programs for students unable or unwilling to travel to Manhattan, training public school teachers and others to run extracurricular programs like “math circles,” and developing educational materials, like math games, designed to present mathematics in ways that are challenging, fun, and engaging.  In addition, CMT plans over the next three years to double the numbers of students and instructors reached; diversify its sources of support; restructure its website to better serve its core audiences, and refine its data collection procedures so as to better measure program impact.

    To identify, motivate, and nurture mathematical talent through after-school activities in New York City's underserved neighborhoods

    More
  • grantee: Stanford University
    amount: $617,665
    city: Stanford, CA
    year: 2014

    To develop two new surveys of subjective business expectations and conduct research on the sources and consequences of business uncertainty

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Nicholas Bloom

    This grant funds a project led by Nicholas Bloom (Stanford University) and Steven Davis (University of Chicago) to examine the relationship between uncertainty in the business community and economic performance.  Partnering with the U.S. Census Bureau, Bloom and Davis will survey the nearly 45,000 U.S. business establishments in the 2016 Annual Survey of Manufacturing, asking respondents to provide forecasts about the coming year, including expected demand for products, prices, cost increases, employment, planned investment, and both industry- and economy-wide performance outcomes.  The resulting will be a powerful new dataset that will provide the first direct measure of uncertainty in the business community.  In a related effort, Bloom and Davis will partner with the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta to survey a smaller sample of 1,000 businesses on a monthly basis, providing a complementary dataset that will be able to measure how business uncertainty changes over time and in response to new information.   Bloom and Davis plan to use these datasets to construct new measures of economic uncertainty and address a variety of questions, including the impact of uncertainty on business and aggregate economic performance; whether firm-level uncertainty reduces investment, hiring, and R&D; whether firm forecasts of business conditions and outcomes exhibit cognitive biases, and if so, whether these biases vary by firm age, size, performance, management experience, or external conditions.

    To develop two new surveys of subjective business expectations and conduct research on the sources and consequences of business uncertainty

    More
  • grantee: Research Foundation of the City University of New York
    amount: $1,126,925
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2014

    To provide renewed support to encourage promising early career scientists at both student and faculty levels through two awards programs: a Summer Undergraduate Research program and a Junior Faculty Research Award program

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Vita Rabinowitz

    Funds from this grant provide three years of continued support for two programs at the City University of New York aimed at supporting faculty and students in STEM disciplines. The first, CUNY's Summer Undergraduate Research Program (C-SURP), provides talented undergraduates with the opportunity to engage in hands-on, in-the-lab research, assisting CUNY science faculty with ongoing research projects during the summer. Grant funds will support 10 students in each of 2015, 2016, and 2017, providing a $4,000 housing allowance and a $4,000 living stipend to each student. The second supported program under this grant is CUNY's Junior Faculty Research Award in Science and Engineering (J-FRASE) program, which supports promising early-career STEM faculty at CUNY with a $50,000 fellowship for use in research. Over the course of the next three years, 12 faculty will receive fellowships through this grant.

    To provide renewed support to encourage promising early career scientists at both student and faculty levels through two awards programs: a Summer Undergraduate Research program and a Junior Faculty Research Award program

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Berkeley
    amount: $301,383
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2014

    To develop open source R software and training to support various parts of the research process including data publication, data integration, and reproducibility

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Karthik Ram

    In 2013, the Foundation approved a one?year grant to rOpenSci, a collective of data scientists, to build and promote a suite of “packages” for R, a powerful programming language and software environment for statistical computing and graphics.  The packages aimed to greatly simplify the process of gathering data from various archives and services commonly used by researchers.  Such software modules dramatically lower the barriers to R use, freeing researchers from having to write their own idiosyncratic code when parsing data from commonly used repositories like Dryad, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, or the Biodiversity Heritage Library. This grant provides continued support for this project.  The project team will continue software development, shifting their focus to several generic needs like spatial data analysis and the submission of data to repositories for publication, as well as supporting R interoperability with popular emerging tools for data management like Dat.  To further lower barriers to R use in data-driven research, rOpenSci will also develop openly licensed curricular “modules” that could be incorporated into graduate seminars or informal workshops.  In speed adoption, rOpenSci will cultivate an initial cohort of a dozen “ambassadors” from across the natural and social sciences who will develop domain-specific R packages and lead various outreach and community-building efforts in their home disciplines.

    To develop open source R software and training to support various parts of the research process including data publication, data integration, and reproducibility

    More
  • grantee: University of Wisconsin, Madison
    amount: $180,535
    city: Madison, WI
    year: 2014

    To conduct a set of case studies on the sustainability of social science data archives

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Kristen Eschenfelder

    Funds from this grant support efforts by an international team of researchers including Kristin Eschenfelder and Greg Downey of the University of Wisconsin, Madison School of Library and Information Studies and Kalpana Shankar at the University College Dublin School of Information and Library Studies to develop a set of case studies of social science data archives. Beginning with a pilot case study already underway of the University of Michigan’s Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research, the team will select a cohort of up to five data archives for study that meet specific criteria, including longevity, collections that are contributed by others, and funding models that do not rely on direct government support.  The researchers will draw on interviews and archival research to develop detailed histories of these archives with a particular focus on how they evolved their current access policies and business models.  The ensuing case studies will help provide a more robust foundation for discussions about how data archives might be made sustainable over the long term.

    To conduct a set of case studies on the sustainability of social science data archives

    More
  • grantee: Adler Planetarium
    amount: $707,648
    city: Chicago, IL
    year: 2014

    To support a sustainable future for the rapidly expanding Zooniverse platform through an engaged and empowered community of citizen scientists

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Christopher Lintott

    Raw data needs preparation to be useful for research. In some cases, what is needed is cleanup and normalization; in others, tagging or categorization of dataset elements. Depending on the domain and kind of data, computers can do much of the necessary work, but some tasks, due to fuzziness or complexity in the data, are currently beyond the bounds of computation. Much data prep requires human eyes, human minds, human judgment, and human labor, a daunting demand when the size of many modern scientific datasets is measured in terabytes. The Zooniverse project, an international effort initially based at Oxford University and now housed primarily at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, offers a straightforward solution to this problem: divide the work into very granular tasks, gather a large crowd of science enthusiasts, and let them loose on the data.  The result has been remarkably successful.  Over the past few years the project has launched more than 20 citizen science research projects across meteorology, ecology, astrophysics, history, zoology, pathology, and geology and has attracted more than 1.5 million registered and anonymous users, including a core group of 15,000 dedicated volunteers who contribute at least monthly. Funds from this grant support the next phase in Zooniverse’s evolution:  enabling faster growth to meet the explosive demand for Zooniverse projects.  The Zooniverse team plans to decentralize their governance model, expanding their online platform to allow community volunteers to take part in core management functions while still maintaining peer review and oversight by the research community to ensure that the project’s high scientific standards are met.  The result will be a more self-sustaining and scalable model, which the Adler Planetarium is committed to maintain as a national leader in using citizen science to serve its research and educational missions.

    To support a sustainable future for the rapidly expanding Zooniverse platform through an engaged and empowered community of citizen scientists

    More
  • grantee: New York University
    amount: $20,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2014

    To provide partial support for the Cyber Security Program for High School Women

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Nasir Memon

    To provide partial support for the Cyber Security Program for High School Women

    More
  • grantee: New York Public Library
    amount: $41,568
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2014

    To set an agenda to expand historical geodata production and determine a research and development plan for the next five years

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Matthew Knutzen

    To set an agenda to expand historical geodata production and determine a research and development plan for the next five years

    More
  • grantee: Creative Commons
    amount: $63,250
    city: Mountain View, CA
    year: 2014

    To survey and evaluate open hardware licensing options, with an emphasis on distributed sensing hardware

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Puneet Kishor

    To survey and evaluate open hardware licensing options, with an emphasis on distributed sensing hardware

    More
  • grantee: Yale University
    amount: $15,383
    city: New Haven, CT
    year: 2014

    To understand low and variable levels of female political representation in the United States

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Frances Rosenbluth

    To understand low and variable levels of female political representation in the United States

    More
  • grantee: University of Michigan
    amount: $69,246
    city: Ann Arbor, MI
    year: 2014

    To provide the impetus for a committed group of researchers to complete an analysis of STEM teaching, learning, and student outcomes, particularly as they are affected by the design of undergraduate courses and student research opportunities

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Margaret Levenstein

    To provide the impetus for a committed group of researchers to complete an analysis of STEM teaching, learning, and student outcomes, particularly as they are affected by the design of undergraduate courses and student research opportunities

    More
  • grantee: The United States Studies Centre
    amount: $54,870
    city: University of Sydney, Australia
    year: 2014

    To help launch the first international conference on applying behavioral insights to public policy

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Behavioral Economics and Household Finance (BEHF)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Bates Gill

    To help launch the first international conference on applying behavioral insights to public policy

    More
  • grantee: National Academy of Sciences
    amount: $75,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2014

    To provide partial support for a study on the effects of disasters on biomedical academic research that will include preparedness guidance for researchers, institutions, and sponsors

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Bruce Altevogt

    To provide partial support for a study on the effects of disasters on biomedical academic research that will include preparedness guidance for researchers, institutions, and sponsors

    More
  • grantee: American Regions Mathematics League
    amount: $10,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2014

    To support the participation of New York City Math Team students in the American Regions Mathematics League annual competition

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Linda Berman

    To support the participation of New York City Math Team students in the American Regions Mathematics League annual competition

    More
  • grantee: Council on Foundations, Inc.
    amount: $45,000
    city: Arlington, VA
    year: 2014

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Vikki Spruill

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    More
  • grantee: University of Rhode Island
    amount: $750,000
    city: Kingston, RI
    year: 2014

    To continue building the Deep Carbon Observatory as a model program in its internal community networking and external engagement

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Sara Hickox

    To continue building the Deep Carbon Observatory as a model program in its internal community networking and external engagement

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Berkeley
    amount: $66,269
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2014

    To support an October 2014 workshop "Fungi in the Built Environment: Next Steps"

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Rachel Adams

    To support an October 2014 workshop "Fungi in the Built Environment: Next Steps"

    More
  • grantee: Columbia University
    amount: $125,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2014

    To demonstrate the effectiveness of supporting collaborative teams of data-driven researchers within a university

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Kathleen McKeown

    To demonstrate the effectiveness of supporting collaborative teams of data-driven researchers within a university

    More
  • grantee: Johns Hopkins University
    amount: $125,000
    city: Baltimore, MD
    year: 2014

    To amplify and accelerate data-driven research across Johns Hopkins University

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Alexander Szalay

    To amplify and accelerate data-driven research across Johns Hopkins University

    More
  • grantee: Barnard College
    amount: $115,888
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2014

    To update the existing content and plan for an extensive renovation of the website, www.reducingstereotypethreat.org, to increase its effectiveness in reducing the experience and consequences of stereotype threat

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Steven Stroessner

    To update the existing content and plan for an extensive renovation of the website, www.reducingstereotypethreat.org, to increase its effectiveness in reducing the experience and consequences of stereotype threat

    More
  • grantee: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
    amount: $15,500
    city: Cold Spring Harbor, NY
    year: 2014

    To provide partial support for a workshop on enabling undergraduate research at the interface between high performance computing and genomics, genetics, and other areas of "big data" biology

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator David Micklos

    To provide partial support for a workshop on enabling undergraduate research at the interface between high performance computing and genomics, genetics, and other areas of "big data" biology

    More
  • grantee: J. Craig Venter Institute
    amount: $20,000
    city: Rockville, MD
    year: 2014

    To provide partial support for a training course in microbial ecology for early-career scientists

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Barbara Methй

    To provide partial support for a training course in microbial ecology for early-career scientists

    More
  • grantee: Drexel University
    amount: $11,500
    city: Philadelphia, PA
    year: 2014

    To Support a workshop on data remediation and taxonomy strategies for cross-platform, citizen science inventory interoperability and geospatial and badging integrations

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Youngmoo Kim

    To Support a workshop on data remediation and taxonomy strategies for cross-platform, citizen science inventory interoperability and geospatial and badging integrations

    More
  • grantee: University of Michigan
    amount: $125,000
    city: Ann Arbor, MI
    year: 2014

    To build institutional capacity in support of data science at the University of Michigan, and to increase understanding of the barriers to success of interdisciplinary data-centric research projects

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Carl Lagoze

    To build institutional capacity in support of data science at the University of Michigan, and to increase understanding of the barriers to success of interdisciplinary data-centric research projects

    More
  • grantee: University of Washington
    amount: $45,987
    city: Seattle, WA
    year: 2014

    To write a review paper that identifies the reasons for women's underrepresentation in computing and provides recommendations for the most promising ways to remedy this underrepresentation

    • Program Higher Education
    • Initiative Professional Advancement of Underrepresented Groups
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Sapna Cheryan

    To write a review paper that identifies the reasons for women's underrepresentation in computing and provides recommendations for the most promising ways to remedy this underrepresentation

    More
  • grantee: Georgia Institute of Technology
    amount: $23,386
    city: Atlanta, GA
    year: 2014

    To identify and analyze existing data and trends on women faculty in computing; 2) identify and analyze the relevant research literature; and 3) identify and characterize the organizations that support women as faculty in computing.

    • Program Higher Education
    • Initiative Professional Advancement of Underrepresented Groups
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Mary Fox

    To identify and analyze existing data and trends on women faculty in computing; 2) identify and analyze the relevant research literature; and 3) identify and characterize the organizations that support women as faculty in computing.

    More
  • grantee: Computing Research Association
    amount: $33,840
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2014

    To gain insight into the representation of women in the computing field through an in-depth analysis of available data from key national surveys, with emphasis on trends in women's representation at different educational levels and different areas.

    • Program Higher Education
    • Initiative Professional Advancement of Underrepresented Groups
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Stuart Zweben

    To gain insight into the representation of women in the computing field through an in-depth analysis of available data from key national surveys, with emphasis on trends in women's representation at different educational levels and different areas.

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Berkeley
    amount: $29,800
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2014

    To bring together world-renowned energy economists to discuss and explore new research ideas on energy markets

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Lucas Davis

    To bring together world-renowned energy economists to discuss and explore new research ideas on energy markets

    More
  • grantee: Columbia University
    amount: $650,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2014

    To support seven field studies integral to the success of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Peter Kelemen

    This grant to the Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO) supports seven field studies, including the extraction and analysis of deep Earth drilling cores, at seven sites around the globe. Sample types and locations include: Hydrocarbons and microbes from fluids, Canadian Shield (Ontario, Canada); Surface-collected, carbon-bearing sediments and carbonate reefs, North Pole Dome (Western Australia); Hydrocarbons and deep microbes recovered from drilling, Songliao Basin (Northeastern China); High-pressure metamorphic rocks, graphite, and carbonates, Alpine Corsica (France); Possibly abiotic hydrocarbons recovered from drilling, Romashkino oil field (Tatarstan, Russia); (Sub)seafloor methane hydrates (clathrates), water-column methane, Eastern Siberian Arctic Ocean Seafloor; Altered ocean crust and mantle, Samail ophiolite (Oman). Sites were selected through a year-long collaborative process involving the entire DCO community.  Together with cores already in repositories, new samples from these sites will complement the two dozen other locations where researchers are already working (such as volcanoes) in a way that DCO leaders believe will allow the program to achieve its decadal goals. 

    To support seven field studies integral to the success of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    More
  • grantee: The Miami Foundation Inc
    amount: $260,000
    city: Miami, FL
    year: 2014

    To grow Dat, a system for real-time replication, transformation, and versioning of large tabular data sets, into a vibrant, healthy open source project

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Max Ogden

    Github, the collaborative software development and versioning platform, has become so essential to the software development ecosystem that scientists have begun experimenting with using it for the collaborative versioning and sharing of datasets.  Though the potential value is immense, Github was designed to handle software code containing thousands of lines per file, not tabular datasets containing millions of entries.  Large datasets of the kind regularly used by scientists grinds the system to a halt.  Moreover, tabular data, unlike textual software code, might exist in any one of myriad data formats ranging from comma?separated to Excel to SQL.  Funds from this grant provide support for the development of a solution to this problem, a Git-esque platform called “Dat.”  Created by open source developer Max Ogden, Dat borrows heavily from Github’s syntax and mechanics, but is optimized for large-scale tabular data and has been programmed to be able to translate seamlessly between  the wide variety of formats commonly used to store data.   Grant funds will support the hiring of two developers: one focused on core development and one focused on providing interfaces useful to researchers and on ensuring the system’s interoperability with existing scientific data repositories. Additional funds will support outreach and partnership building with stakeholders in the scientific community.

    To grow Dat, a system for real-time replication, transformation, and versioning of large tabular data sets, into a vibrant, healthy open source project

    More
  • grantee: Mozilla Foundation
    amount: $819,480
    city: Mountain View, CA
    year: 2014

    To build educational resources, prototype tools, and foster an ongoing dialogue between the open web community and researchers in order to make science more open, collaborative, and efficient

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Kaitlin Thaney

    Since 2011, the Mozilla Foundation, developer of the popular Firefox web browser, has hosted a series of “Software Carpentry” boot camps developed by computer scientist Greg Wilson to teach basic software engineering practices to researchers who in a professional capacity were writing code to manage data but had never received any formal software development training.  The project has been a success.  Interest in the boot camps has been robust both in the U.S. and Europe and Mozilla has expanded their effort into a larger project, called the Open Science Lab,  aimed at collaborating with the scientific community to develop open source tools and other resources to aid in scientific research and collaboration.  Funds from this grant provide continued operational support to Mozilla for this project.

    To build educational resources, prototype tools, and foster an ongoing dialogue between the open web community and researchers in order to make science more open, collaborative, and efficient

    More
  • grantee: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
    amount: $149,997
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2014

    To tie off ongoing efforts to develop an objective assessment methodology for distinguishing between legitimate peaceful nuclear activity and illegitimate nuclear weapons activities

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator George Perkovich

    The foundational treaty of the global nuclear order, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), does not define what constitutes a nuclear weapon and therefore what activities, technologies, and materials should be regarded as evidence that a state is seeking to acquire nuclear weapons. This lack of definition exacerbates the nonproliferation challenge of distinguishing between legitimate nuclear activities (be they peaceful or military applications such as naval propulsion) and illegitimate ones (namely, those oriented toward nuclear weapons). This challenge, in turn, exacerbates the difficulty of promoting the peaceful spread of nuclear energy while preventing weapons proliferation. This grant provides continued support to an initiative by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace to build an international, science-based, de-politicized consensus around how to distinguish legitimate from illegitimate nuclear activity as defined by the NPT. Funds will support preparation for an international meeting of stakeholders in Beijing in 2014, finalization of technical documentation, the identification of use-cases and potential applications of the new identification regime, and outreach and communication efforts aimed at garnering broad international support.

    To tie off ongoing efforts to develop an objective assessment methodology for distinguishing between legitimate peaceful nuclear activity and illegitimate nuclear weapons activities

    More
  • grantee: Johns Hopkins University
    amount: $602,039
    city: Baltimore, MD
    year: 2014

    To design and launch a data curation infrastructure that provides a graph-based view of the relationships between publications and data

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator G. Choudhury

    Though the Sloan Foundation has funded several initiatives to make the citation of data a regular, established practice in science, data citation is itself unidirectional.  In a properly cited scientific article, the reader will know what datasets are being referenced and used, but the creator or curator of those cited datasets may have no way to know his or her data is being cited.  Yet knowing how a dataset is being used and by whom can be a crucial factor in making decisions about its value, how to extend it, and how to increase its usefulness.   This grant supports work by Sayeed Choudhury, associate dean for research data management at Johns Hopkins University, to develop a third-party service called “Matchmaker” that would independently map the relationships between articles and data, linking between existing publishing platforms and data repositories.  These relationships could be created by a number of different stakeholders in the scholarly communication process:  by a publisher, by a data archive, by an individual researcher, or even by a library.  When fully developed, these relationships would then form a "graph" that could be queried without having to repeatedly poll every repository and publisher, a complement to more traditional citation services like ISI or Google Scholar.

    To design and launch a data curation infrastructure that provides a graph-based view of the relationships between publications and data

    More
  • grantee: Association of Research Libraries
    amount: $500,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2014

    To support the initial development and launch of the SHARE Notification System, a structured way to report and notify parties of research release events

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Elliott Shore

    In 2013, a White House Office of Science & Technology Policy directive outlined new open-access expectations for research products funded by the federal government.  One question left open by the directive, however, is how exactly those materials should be managed and made discoverable, particularly for the long term.  Funds from this grant support a project by the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) to facilitate compliance with the OSTP directive by developing a platform for reporting and notifying parties of events related to the release of publicly and privately funded research.  Partnering with the Association of American Universities and the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, the ARL will create a multi-institutional platform, the SHared Access Research Ecosystem (SHARE), that will tie together existing university-based institutional repositories into a coherent discovery and compliance tracking system.  When completed, SHARE will function as connective tissue that will enable others to build user-facing services that build on the multi-institutional architecture, leveraging university investments in their own institutional repositories and providing a valuable resource to help university offices of sponsored research meet their reporting and compliance-tracking obligations.

    To support the initial development and launch of the SHARE Notification System, a structured way to report and notify parties of research release events

    More
  • grantee: University of Montreal
    amount: $359,991
    city: Montreal, QC, Canada
    year: 2014

    To support greater understanding of social media in scholarly communication and the actual meaning of various altmetrics

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Vincent Lariviиre

    The rise of the Internet and digitally enabled means of disseminating scholarly research has led to a burgeoning interest in “altmetrics,” alternative measures of the impact and importance of scholarship that extend beyond traditional measures like citation counts. Funds from this grant support efforts by Vincent Lariviere and Stefanie Haustein of the University of Montreal and their colleague Cassidy Sugimoto of Indiana propose to dig deeper into the relative value and meaning of two specific altmetric indicators:  social media tweets and “saves” by popular bibliographic reference manager platforms.  The researcher team will match bibliographic and citation data from the Web of Science (linked with the same articles as they appear in PubMed and arXiv) with these forms of altmetric activity in order to answer a set of questions about the relationship between altmetric signals and the ultimate impact of a given work as traditionally measured in citation.  Particular focus will be given to the relationship, if any, between initial attention paid to preprints or working papers and the subsequent citation of formally published versions of those same papers.

    To support greater understanding of social media in scholarly communication and the actual meaning of various altmetrics

    More
  • grantee: Hypothesis Project
    amount: $683,000
    city: San Francisco, CA
    year: 2014

    To support further development and pilot adoption of the hypothes.is web annotation platform

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Dan Whaley

    This grant provide 14 months of support for the Hypothes.is Project, a web annotation platform that aims to bring granular annotation of online scholarly materials to users through the development of an easy-to-use interface that makes web annotation fully collaborative, shareable, and searchable.  Grant funds will support continued development of the Hypothes.is platform as well as three pilot implementations, one at the American Geophysical Union, one at the arXiv preprint repository, and one at eLife, an influential online journal sponsored by the Wellcome Trust and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.  Additional funds support a 2014 summit for Hypothes.is stakeholders to ensure compliance with current and forthcoming standards set by the World Wide Web Consortium.

    To support further development and pilot adoption of the hypothes.is web annotation platform

    More
  • grantee: Institute of International Education
    amount: $750,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2014

    To provide life-saving fellowships and academic placements for persecuted scholars from around the world

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Daniela Kaisth

    The Institute of International Education’s Scholar Rescue Fund (SRF), begun in 2002, provides persecuted scholars from around the world with one- to two-year fellowships that allow threatened scholars to pursue their academic and scientific studies in the safety of one of the Fund’s partner institutions.  This grant provides three years of continued support to the Scholar Rescue Fund for these activities.  Grant funds will provide life-saving fellowships for an estimated eight to ten persecuted scholars per year and help defray administrative costs associated with identifying, rescuing, and finding appropriate host institutions for endangered scholars world-wide.

    To provide life-saving fellowships and academic placements for persecuted scholars from around the world

    More
  • grantee: University of Oklahoma
    amount: $351,844
    city: Norman, OK
    year: 2014

    To build an open-access, digital research platform for the global history of science community centered on data from the Isis Bibliography of the History of Science

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Stephen Weldon

    Funds from this grant support a series of projects to increase the usefulness of the Isis Bibliography of the History of Science, the oldest and largest bibliography in its field and an invaluable resource to historians of science worldwide.  Using grant funds, Isis Bibliographer Stephen Weldon and his team will spearhead a series of initiatives designed to bring the ISIS Bibliography more fully into the digital era, including retrospective digitization, data extraction, and cleanup of the existing bibliography; the development of new researcher-facing tools and interfaces; “community-sourced” mechanisms for maintaining the bibliography going forward; and a mini-grant program to incentivize novel or innovative ways of utilizing the bibliography as a scholarly resource.

    To build an open-access, digital research platform for the global history of science community centered on data from the Isis Bibliography of the History of Science

    More
  • grantee: University of Colorado, Boulder
    amount: $1,000,000
    city: Boulder, CO
    year: 2014

    To provide improved tools for data analysis, including better user interfaces, protocols, and standards

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Robin Knight

    Researchers working in indoor microbial ecology have no easy way to share data.  Though the community is adopting state-of-the-art gene sequencing techniques, use of these new methods makes it difficult to compare newly collected data with older data collected using alternative methods.  What’s needed is an easy-to-use data platform that will facilitate data sharing by integrating sample handling, sequencing, analysis, and data release.  Funds from this grant support a project by Rob Knight of the University of Colorado and Mitch Sogin of the Marine Biological Laboratory to develop just such an integrated data platform. Over the next two years, Knight and Sogin will attempt to merge two data platforms used by microbial ecologists: QIIME (Quantitative Insights into Molecular Ecology) and VAMPS (Visualization and Analysis of Microbial Population Structures).  VAMPS is very user-friendly and nimble; QIIME is more powerful but harder to use.  The aim is to develop a new system that combines the best of both platforms, tying the user-friendly tools in VAMPS to the powerful analytical capacity of QIIME.  They will also develop a series of protocols and standards for the collection and analysis of microbial data using the new system.  The project will result in new standard operating procedures, better software tools, and improved methods for depositing and sharing data in indoor microbial ecology. The team expects the new tools and procedures to be adopted by at least 75 to 100 researchers, with at least 100 students and postdocs will be trained through annual workshops.

    To provide improved tools for data analysis, including better user interfaces, protocols, and standards

    More
  • grantee: Columbia University
    amount: $266,939
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2014

    To encourage the next generation of filmmakers to write screenplays and produce short films about science and technology

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Trey Ellis

    This grant provides continuing support to Columbia University, one of the Foundation's six film school partners, for twenty-eight months of activities designed to encourage top film students to develop screenplays and produce short films about science and technology. Activities supported through this grant include the provision of faculty mentors and science advisors for students working on science-themed film projects, two annual awards for production of short films on science and technology, one annual award to develop promising feature film scripts with science content, an annual science information seminar for film students,  and networking events with select film industry producers, agents, and managers.

    To encourage the next generation of filmmakers to write screenplays and produce short films about science and technology

    More
  • grantee: Columbia University
    amount: $663,141
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2014

    To enhance and expand the scope of the Age Smart Employer Awards

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Ruth Finkelstein

    This grant provides continued support for the second year of the Age Smart Employer Awards, which honor local New York City employers who have demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to leveraging older workers’ talent while meeting the goals of both the business and its employees.   Grant funds will support the administration of the awards, the selection process, and outreach activities.  Particular emphasis will be placed on expanding the circle of businesses that know about and apply for the awards as well as increasing the visibility for winning employers and the innovative practices for which they are being honored.  Outreach strategy will particularly target small businesses (those employing fewer than 100 workers) and employers in New York City’s growing health care sector.

    To enhance and expand the scope of the Age Smart Employer Awards

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Berkeley
    amount: $1,445,238
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2014

    To understand the microbiology of the built environment through interdisciplinary research that combines microbial ecology, particle transport physics, chemistry, and architecture

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Thomas Bruns

    This grant provides renewed support to the Berkeley Indoor Microbial Ecology Consortium (BIMERC), a multidisciplinary group of mycologists, microbiologists, chemists, architects, and engineers who are working together to better understand the sources, factors, and processes involved in the assembly of microbial communities indoors. Grant funds support a number of planned scientific studies by the BIMERC team, including an investigation into which microbial volatile organic compounds are indicators of microbial population growth;, a study of how environment, building characteristics, and human behavior affect airborn microbes; a project to measure and model living particles using a laser-based ultraviolet spectrometer; and an analysis of microbial reproduction using gene transcripts. Additional funds support the purchase of a state-of-the-art mass spectrometer, a Proton Transfer Reaction-Time of Flight-Mass Spectrometer (PTR-ToF-MS), which will permit the team to conduct real-time chemical analysis.  The team will share their findings through peer-reviewed scientific publications, presentations at meetings and workshops, and through web-based blogs.

    To understand the microbiology of the built environment through interdisciplinary research that combines microbial ecology, particle transport physics, chemistry, and architecture

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Davis
    amount: $307,443
    city: Davis, CA
    year: 2014

    To examine the seasonal nature of the built environment microbiota in wine- and cheese-making facilities

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator David Mills

    Funds from this grant support efforts by David A. Mills, Peter J. Shields Endowed Chair in the Department of Food Science, to examine the seasonal nature of the built environment microbiota in two types of food and beverage fermentation settings: dairies and wineries. The study aims to determine what microbial communities reside in these facilities during normal operation during all four seasons of the year; examine how these microbial communities migrate throughout the facilities; and make a series of building science measurements to evaluate how the built environment impacts these microbial communities. In the wine study, Mills and his team will examine how regional microbiota on Chardonnay grapes from four different regions--Napa, Sonoma, Central Coast, and Northern San Joaquin Valley--influences winery-associated microbiota and how room traffic, occupancy, air flows, and room surfaces affect microbial composition. In the dairy study, the team will examine how three different types of milk--goat, cheese, and cow--drive the dairy-associated microbiota at three artisanal cheese-making facilities. In both studies, the team will examine seasonal changes to indoor microbiota and their correlations with environmental parameters. The project will train at least one postdoctoral fellow and two undergraduates.  Findings will be shared with the scientific community through peer-reviewed publications and talks at scientific meetings and disseminated to the wine and dairy industry through trade publications.

    To examine the seasonal nature of the built environment microbiota in wine- and cheese-making facilities

    More
  • grantee: Stanford University
    amount: $862,416
    city: Stanford, CA
    year: 2014

    To foster more research and policy discussion about changing labor market institutions to accommodate increased longevity through a conference series and a post-doc/first sabbatical program

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator John Shoven

    This grant supports three, two-day, annual conferences exploring the latest economic research related to changing labor market institutions and regulatory policy in ways that accommodate the increasing lifespans of the American worker.   Hosted by economist John Shoven, director of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR), the conferences will serve as an annual event where the growing community of new and established economists working on these issues can gather to network, share ideas, and learn about the latest research.  Topics to be discussed at the conferences will cover a wide range of issues, including retirement security, how existing regulatory regimes affect worker incentives, retirement strategies, pensions, the likely effects of proposed alternative regulatory regimes, and systematic differences between labor markets for older workers and those for younger cohorts.  Additional funds will support a small postdoc/first sabbatical fellowship program that will support the work of two researchers interested in conducting original, high-quality economic research in this area.

    To foster more research and policy discussion about changing labor market institutions to accommodate increased longevity through a conference series and a post-doc/first sabbatical program

    More
  • grantee: Cornell University
    amount: $307,604
    city: Ithaca, NY
    year: 2014

    To identify the effect of public policies that promote extended employment on the health of older Americans

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Maria Fitzpatrick

    As the health of the U.S. population improves and the sources of retirement income become potentially more unstable, older Americans are expected to continue their current trend of both needing and wanting to work longer.  The health impacts of longer working lives, however, are inadequately understood, particularly when work is induced by policy changes such as increasing the age of full retirement for Social Security benefits. This grant supports research by Maria Fitzpatrick of Cornell University and Timothy Moore of George Washington University that examines this issue by studying the changes made in 1983 to the statutory retirement ages for Social Security benefits.  Combining administrative with data and detailed data on health behaviors and expenditures, Fitzpatrick and Moore will examine how and whether differences in the length of working lives change health outcomes such as mortality and morbidity.

    To identify the effect of public policies that promote extended employment on the health of older Americans

    More
  • grantee: National Academy of Sciences
    amount: $150,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2014

    To report on the science and practice of learning by revising and extending the book How People Learn

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Barbara Wanchisen

    For those interested in the “science of learning,” the book called How People Learn has been a bible.  This report is one of the most successful ever produced by the National Academies Press, selling nearly 150,000 hard copies on top of many free downloads.  A distinguished National Research Council committee of cognitive neuroscientists, developmental psychologists, and educational experts succeeded in distilling and documenting key research findings, a series of practical applications of these findings, and an agenda for further research.  Funds from this grant support a project by the National Academy of Science to publish an updated second edition of How People Learn, fifteen years after its original publication.  The new edition will cover the latest research in fields such as cognitive neuroscience, behavioral economics, developmental psychology, and learning technologies. Though the updated report will address the full spectrum of learning from “K to gray,” Sloan funding will specifically support work on topics related to postsecondary education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

    To report on the science and practice of learning by revising and extending the book How People Learn

    More
  • grantee: National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, Inc.
    amount: $750,000
    city: White Plains, NY
    year: 2014

    To support the Sloan Minority Ph.D. program for Phase 2 transition awards for new University Centers of Exemplary Mentoring (UCEMs) and Programs in Exemplary Mentoring (PEMs)

    • Program Higher Education
    • Initiative Minority Ph.D.
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Aileen Walter

    To support the Sloan Minority Ph.D. program for Phase 2 transition awards for new University Centers of Exemplary Mentoring (UCEMs) and Programs in Exemplary Mentoring (PEMs)

    More
  • grantee: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    amount: $667,316
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2014

    To organize and support research on the economics of digitization

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Economic Analysis of Science and Technology (EAST)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Shane Greenstein

    Funds from this grant provide three years of support to the National Bureau of Economic Research for expenses associated with the continued operation of the Economics of Digitization Working Group.  Led by Shane Greenstein of Northwestern, Josh Lerner of Harvard, and Scott Stern of MIT, the Economics of Digitization working group brings together a diverse group of economists to examine issues related to the digital revolution, including the structure and features of markets that deal in digital goods and services, copyright and intellectual property issues, privacy in the digital age, the role of prices in digital markets, and capturing digital work and productivity in economic statistics like GDP.   Grant funds will support working group conferences at the NBER Summer Institute and at Stanford.  They will also support one postdoctoral fellow and four research sub-awards per year.

    To organize and support research on the economics of digitization

    More
  • grantee: National Academy of Sciences
    amount: $150,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2014

    To study potential changes in how the Common Rule governs behavioral and social science research on human subjects

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Economic Implications of the Great Recession (EIGR)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Barbara Wanchisen

    This grant provides partial support for a study by the National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academy of Sciences on proposed reforms to the “Common Rule” – a set of rules governing the use of human subjects in research funded by 17 federal agencies. Untouched for two decades, the Common Rule is unarguably in need of revision to reflect changes in the way modern research is conducted in the U.S. Yet ill-advised changes to the Rule could significantly hinder the conduct of harmless research, particularly in the behavioral and social sciences. A proposed rule change by the Department of Health and Human Services, for instance, would extend the privacy guidelines in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) to research in all fields, even though the guidelines therein were specifically formulated to protect personal health information. If adopted, such an extension could require academic scientists of all kinds to obtain new permissions from human subjects, including survey respondents, before reusing their data for any purpose other than the one originally stated—even if those data have already been anonymized.The NRC will convene a blue ribbon committee of scientific and policy experts, study the likely impacts of proposed and hypothetical changes to the Common Rule, and issue a high-profile report on their findings, and hold a workshop with relevant stakeholders.

    To study potential changes in how the Common Rule governs behavioral and social science research on human subjects

    More
  • grantee: New York University
    amount: $588,205
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2014

    To model how the capitalization and regulation of financial institutions interact with the macroeconomy

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Economic Implications of the Great Recession (EIGR)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Robert Engle

    Traditionally, macroeconomics and finance have been surprisingly separate subjects.  Yet if the Great Recession taught us anything, it is that macroeconomic models should not ignore the financial sector.  We now know that financial considerations such as risk, regulation, leverage, liquidity, and default can affect the “real economy.”  Funds from this grant support the work of a team led by Robert Engle at New York University to build, test, and refine macro-economic models that incorporate these financial factors.  Engle’s team will pay particular attention to modeling how undercapitalization relative to regulatory requirements affects macroeconomic dynamics.

    To model how the capitalization and regulation of financial institutions interact with the macroeconomy

    More
  • grantee: PRX Incorporated
    amount: $300,000
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2014

    As support for a three-pronged approach to developing and disseminating new science and technology content for a new generation of radio producers and listeners via nontraditional broadcast, digital, and mobile platforms

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Radio
    • Investigator Jake Shapiro

    Funds from this grant support a project by PRX, an open content marketplace for independently produced radio programs, to develop new voices and fresh radio content about science and technology (S&T). Using grant funds, PRX will issue an open call for story driven audio content on S&T themes and will produce S&T content for their existing portfolio of signature shows and podcasts, including a one-hour S&T-themed production for the The Moth Radio Hour, three science-themed S&T episodes for 99% Invisible, three technology-themed episodes for Theory of Everything, and three video segments showcasing interviews with leaders of S&T for Blank on Blank.  PRX will also develop a new science-based podcast focused on women in science.

    As support for a three-pronged approach to developing and disseminating new science and technology content for a new generation of radio producers and listeners via nontraditional broadcast, digital, and mobile platforms

    More
  • grantee: American Museum of Natural History
    amount: $354,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2014

    As support for the popular science talk show StarTalk hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Radio
    • Investigator Neil Tyson

    Neil deGrasse Tyson, an astrophysicist and director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History, is also creator and host of an innovative radio show called StarTalk, a program that uses comedy and celebrity star power to demystify science for the public. Tyson’s guests are a mix of distinguished scientists—Bill Nye, Brian Greene, Buzz Aldrin—and interesting nonscientists and celebrities such as Jon Stewart, Morgan Freeman, and GZA.   Increasingly the show has been videotaped and posted on YouTube and other video channels where it has attracted a sizeable audience and significant advertising.  This grant provides basic operating support for the continued production of StarTalk during a one-year contractual blackout imposed by Tyson’s decision to host the upcoming 13-part mini-series COSMOS, to air in primetime on FOX in the spring of 2014.  Contractually forbidden to appear on a “competing” video program, Tyson is seeking bridge funding to keep StarTalk funded until he can reappear on the program in 2015.  This grant provides these funds, ensuring that an innovative show devoted to advancing the public understanding of science can stay on the air.

    As support for the popular science talk show StarTalk hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson

    More
  • grantee: WGBH Educational Foundation
    amount: $1,000,000
    city: Boston, MA
    year: 2014

    For a two-hour NOVA special about black holes hosted by astrophysicist Janna Levin, and ancillary outreach activities and a free mobile app

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Television
    • Investigator Paula Apsell

    This grant provides support for a new two-hour documentary, to be produced and broadcast for the PBS series NOVA, on the science of black holes.  Hosted by Columbia astrophysicist Janna Levin, the film will document how recent improvements in instrumentation have led to significant advances in our understanding of black holes and are shedding light on fundamental questions about the universe.  The show will include state-of-the-art animations as well as a free black hole app for mobile devices. Grant funds will provide production support for the documentary along with funds for app development, animation, and educational outreach campaigns targeting students, teachers, and the lay public.

    For a two-hour NOVA special about black holes hosted by astrophysicist Janna Levin, and ancillary outreach activities and a free mobile app

    More
  • grantee: Stevens Institute of Technology
    amount: $433,647
    city: Hoboken, NJ
    year: 2014

    To develop both a viable set of open source algorithms that describe financial contract types, as well as a community that will develop, fund, use, and maintain an even more comprehensive set

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Khaldoun Khashanah

    Financial contracts range from stocks, options, and futures to loans, annuities, and swaps.  Each has its own rules governing who pays whom under what circumstances.  Understanding the obligations imposed by these real world contracts under various hypothetical future scenarios is essential to evaluating the risks posed by the financial system to the global macroeconomy.  What will happen if oil prices drop precipitously?  What will happen if Chinese growth slows far faster than expected?  What happens if there is another recession in the Eurozone? Project ACTUS (Algorithmic Contract Types Unified Standards), based at the Stevens Institute of Technology, seeks to answer these questions by simplifying the analysis of financial transactions.  In theory, every financial agreement can be modeled algorithmically in terms of just 30 basic paradigms called “contract types.”  Each contract type’s algorithm accepts as inputs both the parameters of the original agreement as well as information about the subsequent state of the world.  It then outputs the payments dictated by the contract to and from its counterparties.  In other words, the algorithm calculates “state dependent cash flows.”  Banks and consultants already have their own proprietary systems that accomplish this, of course, but ACTUS is developing a system that would be comprehensive, standardized, open source, and compatible across organizations.  It would allow the calculation of state dependent cash flows not just within a company, but across entire industries and economies, with potential applications in everything from risk management to regulatory reporting.  A 2012 planning grant from the Sloan Foundation supported ACTUS in the development and testing of the first six contract types.  Funds from this grant will expand the project, allowing the development and testing of six additional types, enough to cover most routine bank transactions.

    To develop both a viable set of open source algorithms that describe financial contract types, as well as a community that will develop, fund, use, and maintain an even more comprehensive set

    More
  • grantee: Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association Inc.
    amount: $1,000,000
    city: Arlington, VA
    year: 2014

    To support the production of a six-hour PBS documentary with Ken Burns on the past, present, and future of cancer science based on the award-winning book Emperor of All Maladies, and associated outreach

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Television
    • Investigator Dalton Delan

    This grant provides support for the production of a six-hour television series, to be produced by documentarian Ken Burns and broadcast on PBS, on the past, present, and future of cancer science. Based on Siddhartha Mukherjee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning bestseller:  The Emperor of All Maladies. The Story of Cancer, the series will offer cinema-veritй style stories about patients and their caregivers and will delve into the latest scientific advances in cancer research, including how the sequencing of the human genome, has transformed  our understanding of the genetic, cellular, and molecular basis of cancer.  The series will focus on three specific types of cancer—leukemia, breast, and lung—in an effort to give a broad overview of the complexity of this disease.

    To support the production of a six-hour PBS documentary with Ken Burns on the past, present, and future of cancer science based on the award-winning book Emperor of All Maladies, and associated outreach

    More
  • grantee: Columbia University
    amount: $250,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2014

    To determine the microflora of mice in proximity to densely populated and high-traffic areas in New York City

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator W. Lipkin

    Infectious disease expert Ian Lipkin, M.D., the John Snow Professor of Epidemiology and Director of the Center for Infection and Immunity at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University studied the microbial profiles of 133 rats in lower Manhattan and determined that they harbor multiple human pathogens.  This grant supports Lipkin as he expands this study to mice.  Lipkin will examine the microflora of 100 mice from each of 16 densely populated areas of New York City in order to determine what bacteria, fungi, and viruses are present in native NYC mice and whether the distribution of these microoganisms  differ by borough, season, or socioeconomic status of the surrounding human population.  The project has the potential to identify both known and novel pathogens in rodent vectors, provide insights into otherwise unexplained diseases by revealing links to infection with rodent-borne pathogens, and build support for rodent control.  The new knowledge will be shared through peer-reviewed publications and presentations at scientific and medical meetings.

    To determine the microflora of mice in proximity to densely populated and high-traffic areas in New York City

    More
  • grantee: The University of Chicago
    amount: $499,156
    city: Chicago, IL
    year: 2014

    To facilitate more efficient movement, management, and sharing of research data

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Ian Foster

    One of the more surprising difficulties of working with big data—more than a few hundred gigabytes—is the sheer difficulty of moving it from place to place.  Though the price of cloud and local computing has dropped and the availability of bandwidth has increased, the standard protocols for transferring data over the Internet (http and ftp) simply start to break down at that scale.  Errors multiply, requiring laborious file integrity checking and repetitive restarting of transfer operations.  There is, as yet, no satisfactory solution to the simple yet thorny issue of moving meso? and larger scale data from one computer to another. Globus, a data management tool developed by a team at the University of Chicago’s Computation Institute, offers a promising solution to these problems, allowing the seamless transfer of large datasets with none of the drawbacks of existing methods.  The project is currently pivoting from support by grant funding to a sustainable nonprofit business model based on both individual and institutional subscriptions (and has already signed up six major universities as charter members).  However, it is facing a catch?22:  The team needs robust marketing and customer support capacity to build up a customer base, but without a customer base they will not have the funds to provide marketing and customer support.  Funds from this grant provide temporary bridge funding to the Globus platform, enabling the project to provide top quality service while it builds a customer base and moves towards independent sustainability.

    To facilitate more efficient movement, management, and sharing of research data

    More
  • grantee: University of Kansas
    amount: $124,999
    city: Lawrence, KS
    year: 2014

    To examine the data and literature on under-representation of women in Computer Science (CS) degrees and Information Technology (IT) careers

    • Program Higher Education
    • Initiative Professional Advancement of Underrepresented Groups
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Donna Ginther

    To examine the data and literature on under-representation of women in Computer Science (CS) degrees and Information Technology (IT) careers

    More
  • grantee: Data & Society Research Institute
    amount: $10,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2014

    To organize and run a workshop on the social, cultural, and ethical dimensions of big data

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Danah Boyd

    To organize and run a workshop on the social, cultural, and ethical dimensions of big data

    More
  • grantee: Illinois Institute of Technology
    amount: $25,447
    city: Chicago, IL
    year: 2014

    To support a May 2014 workshop: Building Science to Advance Research in the Microbiology of the Built Environment Program

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Brent Stephens

    To support a May 2014 workshop: Building Science to Advance Research in the Microbiology of the Built Environment Program

    More
  • grantee: University of Colorado, Denver
    amount: $106,943
    city: Denver, CO
    year: 2014

    To map the political landscape of national politics on hydraulic fracturing in the United States and draw lessons between North America and Europe about the politics of hydraulic fracturing and the research methods for studying political systems

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Tanya Heikkila

    To map the political landscape of national politics on hydraulic fracturing in the United States and draw lessons between North America and Europe about the politics of hydraulic fracturing and the research methods for studying political systems

    More
  • grantee: University of Minnesota
    amount: $115,000
    city: Minneapolis, MN
    year: 2014

    To document a notable time period in the participation of women and computing through oral histories of middle-rank professional women employed by three major U.S. corporations

    • Program Higher Education
    • Initiative Professional Advancement of Underrepresented Groups
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Thomas Misa

    To document a notable time period in the participation of women and computing through oral histories of middle-rank professional women employed by three major U.S. corporations

    More
  • grantee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    amount: $80,000
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2014

    To organize and run a workshop on technical, practical, and research questions about big data privacy

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Daniel Weitzner

    To organize and run a workshop on technical, practical, and research questions about big data privacy

    More
  • grantee: New York University
    amount: $15,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2014

    To run a workshop and associated hack day on strategies and tools for cross-platform identity and contribution management in citizen science

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Franзois Grey

    To run a workshop and associated hack day on strategies and tools for cross-platform identity and contribution management in citizen science

    More
  • grantee: International Energy Program Evaluation Conference
    amount: $20,000
    city: Chatham, MA
    year: 2014

    To accelerate and advance the profession of energy evaluation through instilling an interest in and connections to professional evaluation of energy programs and policies by enabling graduate students to attend the IEPPEC Conference at no charge

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Charles Michaelis

    To accelerate and advance the profession of energy evaluation through instilling an interest in and connections to professional evaluation of energy programs and policies by enabling graduate students to attend the IEPPEC Conference at no charge

    More
  • grantee: American Association for the Advancement of Science
    amount: $16,284
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2014

    To provide supplemental support for a one-day symposium on Microbiology of the Built Environment that was postponed due to the October 2013 federal government shutdown

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Mark Milutinovich

    To provide supplemental support for a one-day symposium on Microbiology of the Built Environment that was postponed due to the October 2013 federal government shutdown

    More
  • grantee: University of Maryland, Baltimore
    amount: $44,942
    city: Baltimore, MD
    year: 2014

    To foster metadata collection and analysis across the Microbiology of the Built Environment program

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Lynn Schriml

    To foster metadata collection and analysis across the Microbiology of the Built Environment program

    More
  • grantee: Barnard College
    amount: $25,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2014

    To screen Decoding Annie Parker and hold a panel discussion as a way of highlighting women in STEM fields at the Athena Film Festival

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Kathryn Kolbert

    To screen Decoding Annie Parker and hold a panel discussion as a way of highlighting women in STEM fields at the Athena Film Festival

    More
  • grantee: University of Colorado, Boulder
    amount: $120,000
    city: Boulder, CO
    year: 2013

    To investigate household arthropods as unique sources of microbes in the built environment

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Anne Madden

    To investigate household arthropods as unique sources of microbes in the built environment

    More
  • grantee: Katherine Eban Finkelstein
    amount: $50,000
    city: Brooklyn, NY
    year: 2013

    Support for the research and writing of a book on the dangers of America’s use and manufacturing of generic drugs

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Katherine Finkelstein

    Support for the research and writing of a book on the dangers of America’s use and manufacturing of generic drugs

    More
  • grantee: Women Make Movies, Inc.
    amount: $247,546
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2013

    Support for wide theatrical release and enhanced outreach and an educational campaign around the film Particle Fever, a dramatic documentary about the Large Hadron Collider

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator David Kaplan

    In 2007, Professor David Kaplan started filming events inside a 17-mile tunnel containing the largest scientific experiment ever conducted by humankind: the Large Hadron Collider. A milestone in scientific collaboration involving more than 10,000 scientists from 100 countries, the Large Hadron Collider is the largest, most powerful, high-energy particle accelerator ever constructed and its operation led to the much celebrated confirmation of the existence of the Higgs boson in 2012—and to a Nobel Prize for Peter Higgs. Kaplan has turned his footage into a documentary about the project, Particle Fever, an affecting portrait of scientists and a beautiful illustration of the value and validity of basic research. Funds from this grant provide support for outreach and promotion of Particle Fever, enabling the producers to build an online community using social media, host live events in the run-up to the official theatrical release, and promote the film in digital and print media.

    Support for wide theatrical release and enhanced outreach and an educational campaign around the film Particle Fever, a dramatic documentary about the Large Hadron Collider

    More
  • grantee: University of Wisconsin, Madison
    amount: $550,000
    city: Madison, WI
    year: 2013

    To enable better sharing of pedagogical materials, strategies, and data on usage and impact by the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning through the development and deployment of an integrated open source IT system that connect...

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Robert Mathieu

    The University of Wisconsin at Madison’s Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL) is a multi-institutional center dedicated to training graduate students how to teach more effectively. Launched in 2003 as a collaborative effort between four universities, CIRTL has grown rapidly, now including 22 universities that will collectively graduate some 2,200 future faculty that will have participated in at least one CIRTL offering or training session. Funds from this grant support the construction of a new IT communications infrastructure, the CIRTL Network Commons (CNC), to replace the one that was developed when CIRLT membership was small and when capabilities for online information exchange and collaboration were much less well developed. Products to be supported by the CNC include university dashboards for access to information and tools, social tools to promote community among participants at the member 22 institutions, online community forums and learning community spaces, resource sharing tools, course management tools, cognitive tutors to help students learn complex thinking and problem solving skills, and CIRTL event management and registration tools. The CNC will also enable the collection and analysis of usage data to facilitate informed assessment of the impact and effectiveness of CIRTL’s programs.

    To enable better sharing of pedagogical materials, strategies, and data on usage and impact by the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning through the development and deployment of an integrated open source IT system that connect...

    More
  • grantee: Social Science Research Network
    amount: $20,000
    city: Rochester, NY
    year: 2013

    To develop a standardized and reusable tool set for testing experimental recommendation algorithms

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Gregory Gordon

    To develop a standardized and reusable tool set for testing experimental recommendation algorithms

    More
  • grantee: Behavioral Science & Policy Association
    amount: $12,000
    city: Durham, NC
    year: 2013

    To mobilize technical expertise in support of evidence-based policy-making

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Behavioral Economics and Household Finance (BEHF)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Craig Fox

    To mobilize technical expertise in support of evidence-based policy-making

    More
  • grantee: Project HOPE
    amount: $20,000
    city: Bethesda, MD
    year: 2013

    To brief leaders responsible for policy, media, and health decisions on economics research results concerning the hospital and healthcare system productivity

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Economic Analysis of Science and Technology (EAST)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator John Iglehart

    To brief leaders responsible for policy, media, and health decisions on economics research results concerning the hospital and healthcare system productivity

    More
  • grantee: Conference Board, Inc.
    amount: $125,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2013

    To facilitate research on major problems in labor economics by providing data like the International Labor Comparisons formerly maintained by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Bart van Ark

    To facilitate research on major problems in labor economics by providing data like the International Labor Comparisons formerly maintained by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics

    More
  • grantee: Business-Higher Education Forum
    amount: $18,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2013

    To undertake a series of research activities on the field of data science, focusing on workforce needs and the state of undergraduate education in this emerging area, culminating in a workshop attended by New York-based thought leaders

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Stephen Barkanic

    To undertake a series of research activities on the field of data science, focusing on workforce needs and the state of undergraduate education in this emerging area, culminating in a workshop attended by New York-based thought leaders

    More
  • grantee: Polytechnic Institute of New York University
    amount: $20,000
    city: Brooklyn, NY
    year: 2013

    To hold a research conference on the mathematical themes in Dьrer's Melancolia prints as part of a celebration of their 500th anniversary

    • Program Science
    • Investigator David Chudnovsky

    To hold a research conference on the mathematical themes in Dьrer's Melancolia prints as part of a celebration of their 500th anniversary

    More
  • grantee: North Carolina State University
    amount: $124,821
    city: Raleigh, NC
    year: 2013

    To incorporate building science measures into an existing HUD-funded project on the interactions between insect infestations and microbial communities in homes

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Coby Schal

    To incorporate building science measures into an existing HUD-funded project on the interactions between insect infestations and microbial communities in homes

    More
  • grantee: WNET
    amount: $45,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2013

    As support for the broadcast of three public television programs to enhance public understanding of science and technology on Richard Heffner's Open Mind

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Television
    • Investigator Alexander Heffner

    As support for the broadcast of three public television programs to enhance public understanding of science and technology on Richard Heffner's Open Mind

    More
  • grantee: Philanthropy New York
    amount: $30,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2013

    To support work in 2014 on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Ronna Brown

    To support work in 2014 on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Los Angeles
    amount: $20,000
    city: Los Angeles, CA
    year: 2013

    To support the 2014 Blackwell-Tapia Conference that seeks to address the underrepresentation of minorities in the mathematical sciences

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Russell Caflisch

    To support the 2014 Blackwell-Tapia Conference that seeks to address the underrepresentation of minorities in the mathematical sciences

    More
  • grantee: Financial Stability Board
    amount: $125,000
    city: Basel, Switzerland
    year: 2013

    To fund initial meetings and operations for directors of a Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Irina Leonova

    To fund initial meetings and operations for directors of a Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation

    More
  • grantee: New Venture Fund
    amount: $110,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2013

    To support the establishment of the Science Philanthropy Alliance

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Bruce Boyd

    To support the establishment of the Science Philanthropy Alliance

    More
  • grantee: Smithsonian Institution
    amount: $30,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2013

    To research and prepare a report about the supply and demand for videos, films, books and other media about deep carbon

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Barbara Rehm

    To research and prepare a report about the supply and demand for videos, films, books and other media about deep carbon

    More
  • grantee: David Mindell
    amount: $50,000
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2013

    Support for the research and writing of a book about automation and robotics

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator David Mindell

    Support for the research and writing of a book about automation and robotics

    More
  • grantee: Brooke Borel
    amount: $40,000
    city: Brooklyn, NY
    year: 2013

    Support for the research and writing of a book on the history of the bed bug and its impact on scientific research, pest control and the general public

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Brooke Borel

    Support for the research and writing of a book on the history of the bed bug and its impact on scientific research, pest control and the general public

    More
  • grantee: Yale University
    amount: $25,000
    city: New Haven, CT
    year: 2013

    As support for the research and writing of a book and an associated website on the formation and development of the human embryo with 70 visual metaphors to illustrate basic concepts

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Ben-Zion Shilo

    As support for the research and writing of a book and an associated website on the formation and development of the human embryo with 70 visual metaphors to illustrate basic concepts

    More
  • grantee: Gino Segre
    amount: $16,100
    city: Philadelphia, PA
    year: 2013

    Support for the research and writing of a biography of physicist Enrico Fermi

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Gino Segre

    Support for the research and writing of a biography of physicist Enrico Fermi

    More
  • grantee: Stuart Firestein
    amount: $40,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2013

    Support for the research and writing of a book on failure and its role in science for the general public

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Stuart Firestein

    Support for the research and writing of a book on failure and its role in science for the general public

    More
  • grantee: Christie Wilcox
    amount: $25,000
    city:  
    year: 2013

    Support for the research and writing of a comprehensive science blogging guide for writers of all experience levels

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Bora Zickovic

    Support for the research and writing of a comprehensive science blogging guide for writers of all experience levels

    More
  • grantee: George Washington University
    amount: $109,250
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2013

    To run four popular seminars where a variety of experts help explain the Federal Reserve System to the public

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Economic Implications of the Great Recession (EIGR)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Paul Berman

    To run four popular seminars where a variety of experts help explain the Federal Reserve System to the public

    More
  • grantee: Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics
    amount: $45,000
    city: Alexandria, VA
    year: 2013

    To facilitate access to federal administrative data by social science researchers

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Katherine Smith

    To facilitate access to federal administrative data by social science researchers

    More
  • grantee: North Carolina State University
    amount: $81,951
    city: Raleigh, NC
    year: 2013

    To better understand the research on how employees respond to individuals desiring to work longer

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Robert Clark

    To better understand the research on how employees respond to individuals desiring to work longer

    More
  • grantee: Illinois Institute of Technology
    amount: $120,000
    city: Chicago, IL
    year: 2013

    To study indoor bioaerosol fate, transport and control: Implications for infectious disease transmission

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Stephanie Kunkel

    To study indoor bioaerosol fate, transport and control: Implications for infectious disease transmission

    More
  • grantee: New York University
    amount: $20,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2013

    To provide support to the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World in expanding audiences and building engagement for a traveling exhibition exploring the scientific, technological, and cultural roots of time reckoning and our understanding of time

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program New Media
    • Investigator Jennifer Chi

    To provide support to the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World in expanding audiences and building engagement for a traveling exhibition exploring the scientific, technological, and cultural roots of time reckoning and our understanding of time

    More
  • grantee: University of Pennsylvania
    amount: $15,000
    city: Philadelphia, PA
    year: 2013

    To enable 25 graduate students and international scholars to attend the WFRN 2014 conference

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Jerry Jacobs

    To enable 25 graduate students and international scholars to attend the WFRN 2014 conference

    More
  • grantee: Yale University
    amount: $120,000
    city: New Haven, CT
    year: 2013

    To evaluate microbial activity in house dust and interactions with phthalate esters (PEs)

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Karen Dannemiller

    To evaluate microbial activity in house dust and interactions with phthalate esters (PEs)

    More
  • grantee: Stanford University
    amount: $89,973
    city: Stanford, CA
    year: 2013

    To understand potential pathways between working longer and cognitive performance

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Laura Carstensen

    To understand potential pathways between working longer and cognitive performance

    More
  • grantee: GuideStar USA, Inc.
    amount: $7,500
    city: Williamsburg, VA
    year: 2013

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator James Lum

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    More
  • grantee: Environmental Defense Fund Incorporated
    amount: $1,250,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2013

    To improve scientific understanding of how and why methane leaks occur and support improved cost-effective strategies for monitoring and reducing methane emissions

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Initiative Shale Gas
    • Investigator Steven Hamburg

    Whether and to what extent natural gas is better than coal or oil with respect to climate impact depends on how much of it escapes into the atmosphere during extraction and transport. Unfortunately, little is known about “fugitive” methane emission rates. With this gap in mind, the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), partnering with about 90 industry and academic partners, has launched 16 studies that aim to increase our understanding of methane emission rates from key elements of the natural gas system. This grant provides supplemental support for this series of studies, enabling EDF to compare and contrast the relative accuracy of a wide range of methodologies used to quantify methane emissions, and to assess existing and emerging methane monitoring technologies. Their findings, to be published in a final report, will aim to provide an impartial, evidence-based evaluation of the most promising technologies and methodologies for measuring fugitive methane emissions, identify additional research that is needed, and chart a path towards the commercialization and large-scale deployment of well pad methane monitoring systems.

    To improve scientific understanding of how and why methane leaks occur and support improved cost-effective strategies for monitoring and reducing methane emissions

    More
  • grantee: University of Texas, Austin
    amount: $1,516,462
    city: Austin, TX
    year: 2013

    To examine the capability of U.S. shale oil to contribute significantly to oil supply for the next 20 years, under various economic and technology assumptions

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Initiative Shale Gas
    • Investigator Scott Tinker

    The Bakken Shale in North Dakota and the Eagle Ford Shale in Texas are currently producing well over a million barrels of shale oil per day and have been largely responsible for the recent increase in U.S. domestic oil production and the reduction in U.S. oil imports. Understanding the productive capacity of these plays is essential to understanding how shale oil is likely to shape the future of U.S. energy production. Funds from this grant support a project by the University of Texas at Austin’s Bureau of Economic Geology (BEG) to model the current and future productive capacity of the Bakken and Eagle Ford shale oil plays. Using government and industrial data—some public, some proprietary—the BEG team will conduct a well-by-well analysis to determine the total oil and gas resources in each play, perform decline analyses; calculate current technically recoverable resources; assess acreage drained by existing wells and locations remaining to be drilled; and build a production outlook model that projects the development of acreage and economic reserves over the next 20 years in each basin, given a variety of assumptions about the pace of technology improvement, logistical constraints, and well economics.

    To examine the capability of U.S. shale oil to contribute significantly to oil supply for the next 20 years, under various economic and technology assumptions

    More
  • grantee: Carnegie Institution of Washington
    amount: $400,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2013

    To initiate integrative and synthetic research needed for the Deep Carbon Observatory to realize its full potential by 2019

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Robert Hazen

    Launched in July 2009, the Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO) is approximate 40 percent into its planned decadal span of research. Much of the original vision of the DCO came from geologist Robert Hazen. Hazen and his colleagues have effectively set in motion many streams of observation and analysis. The unusual scope of the DCO—from diamonds to life—presents great challenges for integration and synthesis. This grant provides three years of support for the hiring of one full-time postdoctoral researcher and one graduate student to assist DCO Executive Director Hazen as he initiates this process of synthesis and integration.

    To initiate integrative and synthetic research needed for the Deep Carbon Observatory to realize its full potential by 2019

    More
  • grantee: Marine Biological Laboratory
    amount: $1,250,000
    city: Woods Hole, MA
    year: 2013

    To advance the Deep Carbon Observatory toward its decadal goals in the study of the abundance and diversity of deep life and its roles and interactions with the deep carbon cycle

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Mitchell Sogin

    This grant provides two years of continued administrative and research support to the Deep Life Community of the Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO).  One of four scientific communities within the DCO, the Deep Life community is a multi-national consortium of scientists working to revolutionize our understanding of the quantities, movements, forms, and origins of deep life.  Subsurface microbial ecosystems may extend to 20,000 feet beneath the seafloor and continental surface, and studies of these deep, dark biological reservoirs suggest their total carbon content may rival all surface life.  Instead of tapping into solar power, deep microbial communities harvest energy from fuels such as methane and hydrogen sulfide or buried detrital matter to drive synthesis of macromolecules and reproduce.  Led by microbial biologist Mitch Sogin of the Marine Biological Laboratory, the Deep Life Community will use grant funds to extend molecular studies to a greater number of samples from high-value marine and continental sites and describe the diversity, distribution, and functional adaptations of deep life.  Experiments will explore life’s interplay with geological processes in the deep subsurface, including studies of microbial activities and distributions in hydrogen-­rich habitats which favor abiogenic synthesis of methane and higher hydrocarbons.  In addition, deep life researchers will explore the limits of deep life using improved life detection capabilities and develop and apply tracer approaches to track the flow of carbon into biomolecules and cells.

    To advance the Deep Carbon Observatory toward its decadal goals in the study of the abundance and diversity of deep life and its roles and interactions with the deep carbon cycle

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Los Angeles
    amount: $1,250,000
    city: Los Angeles, CA
    year: 2013

    To advance the Deep Carbon Observatory toward its decadal goals in the study of the physics and chemistry of carbon at extreme conditions

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Craig Manning

    Funds from this grant provide two years of continuing administrative and research support to the Extreme Physics and Chemistry Community of the Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO).  One of four scientific communities within the DCO, the Extreme Physics and Chemistry Community concerns itself with crystals, fluids, and magmas at the high pressures and temperatures characteristic of deep Earth.  Supported research will extend measurements on carbon-bearing systems to previously inaccessible conditions, combining an extraordinary array of experimental techniques with careful computational studies on challenging chemical systems.  Under the direction of UCLA geophysicist Craig Manning, as many as 19 distinct research projects are envisioned during the next two years, with a focus on simultaneously conducting numerical simulations and laboratory measurements on the same physical properties of the same materials.  Also supported under this grant is the compilation and publication of a comprehensive open-access database of thermochemical properties of carbon-bearing minerals, melts, and fluids, as well as their mixtures, to lower-mantle pressure and temperature conditions.  The continued research of the Extreme Physics and Chemistry Community promises to contribute in powerful ways to the DCO’s goal of radically advancing our understanding of deep Earth carbon.

    To advance the Deep Carbon Observatory toward its decadal goals in the study of the physics and chemistry of carbon at extreme conditions

    More
  • grantee: Sundance Institute
    amount: $500,000
    city: Beverly Hills, CA
    year: 2013

    To support a science and technology film program at Sundance that includes film fellowships, film prizes, and film panels and outreach

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Michelle Satter

    This grant funds two years of continued support to the Sloan Science-in-Film initiative by the Sundance Institute, which runs the Sundance Film Festival, the premiere independent film festival in the U.S. Funds will support five annual components of the initiative: a commissioning grant for a high quality feature film script that involves science, engineering, or mathematics; a feature film fellowship for a talented filmmaker interested in science-themed narratives; a $20,000 best Science and Technology feature film prize; a moderated panel discussion by filmmakers and scientists, and an awards reception.

    To support a science and technology film program at Sundance that includes film fellowships, film prizes, and film panels and outreach

    More
  • grantee: Tribeca Film Institute
    amount: $761,744
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2013

    To develop new science and technology films for production and to hold panels and readings at the Tribeca Film Festival

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Natalie Mooallem

    Funds from this grant provide two years of funding to the Tribeca Film Institute for its ongoing efforts to support films and filmmakers that explore scientific and technological themes. With Sloan Foundation support, the Institute will award up to $150,000 each year to between three and six compelling narrative filmmaking projects that explores scientific, mathematical, and technological themes and storylines, or that feature a leading character who is a scientist, engineer, innovator, or mathematician. In addition to such financial support, Tribeca provides selected filmmakers with professional guidance and mentorship, including project notes, networking assistance, and exposure to financing and distribution executives. Funds from this grant also support a series of high profile events at the Tribeca Film Festival, including a screening and discussion series, readings of in-progress scripts exploring scientific and technological themes, and an awards ceremony and reception honoring winning filmmakers.

    To develop new science and technology films for production and to hold panels and readings at the Tribeca Film Festival

    More
  • grantee: Coolidge Corner Theatre Foundation
    amount: $480,606
    city: Brookline, MA
    year: 2013

    To support Coolidge Corner Theatre’s Science on Screen program and expand its reach to another 40 theatres nationwide

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Katherine Tallman

    The Science on Screen program, based at Boston’s Coolidge Corner Theatre, creatively pairs screenings of classic or new release films with discussion of relevant scientific topics by notable scientists or technologists. Pairings featured in the Science on Screen program to date include a discussion of viral outbreaks paired with a screening of 12 Monkeys, a discussion of dog behavior and intelligence paired with a screening of Best in Show, and a discussion of the feasibility of time travel paired with a screening of Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. This two-year grant to the Coolidge Corner Theatre Foundation will fund a small grant program designed to expand Science on Screen, allowing Coolidge to provide small grants to independent cinemas around the country that help offset the costs of running and publicizing their own Science on Screen series. Over the next two years, it is anticipated that at least forty new independent cinemas will sign on to the program, bringing the number of participating theaters nationwide to nearly one hundred.

    To support Coolidge Corner Theatre’s Science on Screen program and expand its reach to another 40 theatres nationwide

    More
  • grantee: Illinois Institute of Technology
    amount: $163,340
    city: Chicago, IL
    year: 2013

    To develop and document open source sensors for characterizing the built environment

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Brent Stephens

    Funds from this grant support the work of Brent Stephens at the Illinois Institute of Technology to develop and document an open network of inexpensive, standardized, and synchronized measurement devices for recording long-term indoor environmental and building operational parameters. Stephens will focus on the parameters that are most likely to influence indoor microbial communities, including environmental conditions (air temperature, relative humidity, light), characteristics of the building’s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems (air flow rates, air exchange rates), human occupancy, and surface environmental conditions (surface temperature and water activity).In addition to developing and testing the sensors themselves, Stephens will make public the documentation and directions for how to build and deploy the sensors. He will also prepare several peer-reviewed publications for the microbial ecology, building science, and sensor development communities.

    To develop and document open source sensors for characterizing the built environment

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Davis
    amount: $998,796
    city: Davis, CA
    year: 2013

    To provide renewed support for the Microbiology of the Built Environment Network

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Jonathan Eisen

    This grant provides two years of continued support to microbiologist Jonathan Eisen at the University of California, Davis for the continued operation and development of the Microbiology of the Built Environment network (microBE.net), a research network and associated website that aims to encourage collaboration, resource sharing, and information exchange in the growing multidisciplinary community of researchers working on understanding the built environment microbiome. Funded activities include the continued operation of the network website, the curation and creation of tools and other resources for researchers, the coordination of several meetings and workshops, and outreach to relevant stakeholders, including researchers, regulators, government funding agencies, and the public.

    To provide renewed support for the Microbiology of the Built Environment Network

    More
  • grantee: American Council on Education
    amount: $737,318
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2013

    To deepen understanding within higher education as to how institutions can support senior faculty choosing to work longer, assist them in transitioning to an active next career phase, and promote culminating career legacies

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Jean McLaughlin

    Funds from this grant support efforts by the American Council on Education (ACE) to understand and increase the impact of the Sloan Awards for Retirement Transitions, a series of awards given to 15 U.S. colleges and universities to honor and accelerate innovative, effective policies for successfully managing the culminating stages of faculty careers. First, ACE will monitor the progress of the 15 retirement award winners. They will collect campus reports as to how innovative practices and programs have been embedded in campus culture so that faculty members feel free to use them and are satisfied with the outcome. Second, from this group of 15 winners, ACE will select five to six institutions that are ready and committed to take their programs to the next level of institutional transformation. Three, ACE will identify three or four institutions that were initially interested in competing for the awards, but because of timing or other issues on their campuses, reluctantly chose not to compete. ACE will work closely with these schools to achieve the institutional changes necessary to support faculty in their final career stage as they are transitioning to retirement. Knowledge gained from these activities will be used to mount a deep and widespread communication effort within higher education to educate other institutions about effective ways that universities and colleges can change their campus cultures in order to support senior faculty choosing to work longer, assist them in transitioning to an active next career phase, and promote culminating career legacies.

    To deepen understanding within higher education as to how institutions can support senior faculty choosing to work longer, assist them in transitioning to an active next career phase, and promote culminating career legacies

    More
  • grantee: University of Texas, Austin
    amount: $265,051
    city: Austin, TX
    year: 2013

    To provide supplemental funds to Grant #2012-KEC-12 so as to provide adequate incentive payments to respondents of the High School & Beyond Study (HSB) to ensure an 80 percent response rate

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Chandra Muller

    In 2012, the Trustees of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation approved a $3.2 million grant to the University of Texas to support a project to re-contact and survey the original, nationally representative High School and Beyond (HSB) 1980 sophomore class cohort in order to assess the effects of early-life human capital on later-life labor market, health, and family outcomes. This new data set will provide scholars with access to a wealth of data collected contemporaneously when the respondents were adolescents and young adults. These data include measures of cognitive and noncognitive skills, school performance, standardized test scores, family socioeconomic origins, health, early life careers, and family formation. The new dataset will enable scholars to study in previously unavailable detail the antecedents of later life labor market activities. This grant provides supplemental support to that project by creating a pool of funds for incentive payments for survey participants to ensure an 80 percent response rate.

    To provide supplemental funds to Grant #2012-KEC-12 so as to provide adequate incentive payments to respondents of the High School & Beyond Study (HSB) to ensure an 80 percent response rate

    More
  • grantee: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    amount: $263,781
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2013

    To support a three-year post-doctoral program on the economics of an aging workforce

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator David Wise

    Funds of this grant support a new program at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) to sponsor a postdoctoral research fellow in each of the next three academic years, beginning in 2014 to 2015, whose research will focus on the economics of the aging workforce. Each fellow will receive one year of support to carry out research at NBER’s offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as well as to participate in the NBER summer institute workshops on Aging and Labor Studies. Selection of the three fellows will be made by a panel of experts who are members of both the Aging and Labor Studies programs at NBER. The committee’s decisions will be based on an evaluation of the fellows’ potential to make an important contribution to the understanding of the behavior of older workers and the functioning of labor markets for these workers.

    To support a three-year post-doctoral program on the economics of an aging workforce

    More
  • grantee: RAND Corporation
    amount: $1,120,309
    city: Santa Monica, CA
    year: 2013

    To improve the understanding of the availability and importance of different pecuniary and nonpecuniary job characteristics for older workers and their effects on older worker labor outcomes

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Nicole Maestas

    One difficulty in understanding the labor market behavior of older workers is that much of the needed data is not available. For instance, the National Institute on Aging’s Health and Retirement Survey—the gold standard data set for examining aging—does not collect detailed information about the pecuniary and nonpecuniary job characteristics of older workers. As such, trends in retirement and other labor market behaviors of older workers cannot be correlated with data about what their jobs are like. This grant provides support for a project by the Rand Corporation to correct this gap by collecting new data describing the actual and preferred working conditions of approximately 2,200 older Americans between the ages of 55 and 70 in the ongoing, nationally representative RAND American Life Panel (ALP). The new dataset will be made publicly available to the broader research community; will serve as encouragement to younger scholars to do research on aging and work; and will inform evidence-based conversations with the National Institute on Aging about adding items on the pecuniary and nonpecuniary attributes of work to the Health and Retirement Survey.

    To improve the understanding of the availability and importance of different pecuniary and nonpecuniary job characteristics for older workers and their effects on older worker labor outcomes

    More
  • grantee: Harvard University
    amount: $396,988
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2013

    To evaluate how institutions of higher education can effectively promote faculty diversity in higher education, including an evaluation of the Sloan Foundation's program on faculty career flexibility

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Frank Dobbin

    Funds from this grant support an innovative study by Harvard University that explores how colleges and universities can promote faculty diversity. Led by Frank Dobbin and Alexandra Kalev and utilizing an original institutional-individual database on 13,000 faculty at 1,000 institutions from 1993 to 2013, the project team will examine the effects of academic hiring, promotion, diversity and work-life policies, and implementation supports on overall faculty diversity; career progress of STEM faculty from all race/ethnic-by-gender groups; and faculty family formation. Additionally, the team will specifically evaluate the impact of the Sloan Awards for Faculty Career Flexibility on these outcomes, and on the spread of flexibility policies beyond awardees and applicants.

    To evaluate how institutions of higher education can effectively promote faculty diversity in higher education, including an evaluation of the Sloan Foundation's program on faculty career flexibility

    More
  • grantee: Society for Human Resources Management Foundation
    amount: $909,650
    city: Alexandria, VA
    year: 2013

    To advance and accelerate research and applied human resource policies and practices for human resource professionals and students to identify, understand, and solve workforce aging issues

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Mark Schmit

    With support from this grant, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Foundation will work to accelerate and advance research and applications to understand and solve workforce aging issues in the United States, with a particular emphasis on reaching human resource professionals. SHRM Foundation will pursue multiple strategies related to research, education, and production of materials. They will conduct a review of the relevant economic, legal, and social science literature on older workers and summarize those findings for a non-specialist audience; they will study human resource policy and practice trends related to older workers; and they will develop new tools and programs to incentivize the adoption of best human resource practices with regard to the aging workforce. Expected products include four studies, an Effective Practice Guidelines report, an Aging Workforce Strategies DVE, and executive roundtable event, a webinar series, and an online Resource Guide/Toolkit for HR practitioners.

    To advance and accelerate research and applied human resource policies and practices for human resource professionals and students to identify, understand, and solve workforce aging issues

    More
  • grantee: North Carolina State University
    amount: $547,161
    city: Raleigh, NC
    year: 2013

    To provide new insight into the work life transitions and key retirement-related decisions by older public sector employees

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Robert Clark

    This grant supports research by Robert Clark and Melinda Morrill of North Carolina State University that will study the labor market behavior of more than 875,000 public employees in North Carolina. Collaborating with the office of the North Carolina Treasurer, Clark and Morrill will investigate a series of four interrelated questions retirement in the public sector. One, how do older public employees prepare for this transition through saving for retirement? Two, how do older public employees determine their optimal retirement age from their career employer? Three, do those workers retiring from public employment move into complete retirement or extend their working life by seeking post-retirement work elsewhere? Four, how do individuals choose among annuity options within their defined benefit and defined contribution plans? The research plan involves analysis of administrative data, three employee and retirement surveys, and a field experiment that tests how information affects employees’ retirement savings behavior.

    To provide new insight into the work life transitions and key retirement-related decisions by older public sector employees

    More
  • grantee: American Association for the Advancement of Science
    amount: $658,426
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2013

    To administer a public policy fellowship for placing behavioral and social scientists in the federal government

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Behavioral Economics and Household Finance (BEHF)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Edward Derrick

    Funds from this grant support the extension of a fellowship program at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) that places behavioral and social scientists in government agencies to help the government implement innovative and evidence-based policies that promote better decision making by citizens and better performance by government.  AAAS’s existing fellowship program supports one fellow, placed at the Office of Science and Technology policy.  Funds from this grant will enable that fellowship to continue while adding an additional fellow in 2014 and one in 2015.

    To administer a public policy fellowship for placing behavioral and social scientists in the federal government

    More
  • grantee: New York Public Radio
    amount: $125,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2013

    For a planning grant for WNYC's new Healthcare Reporting Unit to research and pilot episodes targeted at New York healthcare policy and the impact of the Affordable Care Act on consumers

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Radio
    • Investigator Jim Schachter

    Funds from this grant support the development of a new Healthcare Reporting Unit at New York City radio station WNYC.   The contemplated unit will use personal stories to spotlight issues in American healthcare with an emphasis on research and policy, taking a consumer-friendly approach that links lived experience to broader systemic issues in the health care system through documentary-style reports, banded segments for local and national news programs, hour-long specials, podcasts, and partnerships with leaders in healthcare journalism. The grant will provide funds for convening diverse panel of experts, assembling an advisory board, and conducting research for targeted reporting on healthcare policy in New York and surrounding states, including research on the impact of the Affordable Care Act on consumers.

    For a planning grant for WNYC's new Healthcare Reporting Unit to research and pilot episodes targeted at New York healthcare policy and the impact of the Affordable Care Act on consumers

    More
  • grantee: New York Public Radio
    amount: $750,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2013

    For production and enhanced distribution of Radiolab, an innovative popular science-themed radio show, via multiple platforms

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Radio
    • Investigator Ellen Horne

    This grant provides three years of continued support for the production and distribution of WNYC’s Radiolab, the popular award-winning radio show hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich. Each year for the next three years, the Radiolab team will use grant funds to produce 12 to 15 hours of original audio-based scientific content for broadcast on the show, including 10 hour-long episodes, 16 podcasts, 2 interactive “activities” for web audiences, and between 8 and 10 real-time science demonstrations to be used in the annual Radiolab live tour. Additional funds will allow expansion of the weekly Radiolab broadcast to include 500 radio stations.

    For production and enhanced distribution of Radiolab, an innovative popular science-themed radio show, via multiple platforms

    More
  • grantee: New York Public Radio
    amount: $750,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2013

    To support the production and distribution of science and technology coverage on Studio 360, an award-winning arts and culture show

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Radio
    • Investigator David Krasnow

    This grant provides three years of support for WNYC’s award-winning radio show, Studio 360, hosted by Kurt Andersen, to continue its popular Science and Creativity series. Studio 360 features the latest research and findings in science and technology, relating these developments to arts, culture, and everyday life. Grant funds support a large, diverse board of science advisors for the program, a major planning meeting that flies in experts from around the country, a science-programming consultant, high-quality freelance reporting, and outside contributors who assist the full-time staff. Also supported are a series of live events which aim to engage a younger, more diverse audience than traditional radio broadcasts.

    To support the production and distribution of science and technology coverage on Studio 360, an award-winning arts and culture show

    More
  • grantee: Yale University
    amount: $1,957,224
    city: New Haven, CT
    year: 2013

    To launch a professional training program on the theory and global practice of macroprudential regulation

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Economic Implications of the Great Recession (EIGR)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Andrew Metrick

    This grant to Yale University supports the planning and development of a new “Program on Financial Stability” aimed at training a new generation of experts on financial regulation. Led by Yale Finance and Management professor Andrew Metrick, the program will aim to translate and synthesize research on macroprudential regulation that speaks to practitioners; compile case studies containing raw data and documentation that describe the interaction between regulation and firm behavior; train early-career scholar-regulators employed by major national and international agencies; and help build an international community of scholars, regulators, and financial experts. If successful, the program promises to provide an invaluable training resource that responds to the need to develop the human, social, and intellectual capital that financial regulators need to fend off future financial crises.

    To launch a professional training program on the theory and global practice of macroprudential regulation

    More
  • grantee: New York University
    amount: $444,229
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2013

    To launch a pilot program, the PH.D. Excellence Initiative, to change the face of economics departments in the United States by identifying, training, and mentoring high-achieving students of color, preparing them for rigors of Ph.D. study in the field

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Peter Henry

    The rate of underrepresented minority (URM) doctoral production in economics is dismal: an average of only 12 doctorates per year were awarded to blacks between 2001 and 2011, down from an average of 18 per year in the preceding five years. This grant supports a pilot initiative by New York University economist Peter Henry, Dean of the Stern School of Business, to increase the number of economics doctorates awarded to underrepresented minority students though providing intensive, high-quality mentorship to promising URM students in economics.Over three years, Henry will recruit six high-achieving, high-potential students of color as they graduate from college and offer them an intensive, full-time post-baccalaureate research apprenticeship where they will take selected NYU courses and develop one or more projects chosen specifically to result in co-authoring articles with Henry. Supported students will also receive peer support and mentoring from former mentees in Henry’s program. Henry will also assess student progress and compile program documentation to share with others in the economics profession in the hopes that his program, if successful, can be replicated in other settings.

    To launch a pilot program, the PH.D. Excellence Initiative, to change the face of economics departments in the United States by identifying, training, and mentoring high-achieving students of color, preparing them for rigors of Ph.D. study in the field

    More
  • grantee: Fund for the City of New York
    amount: $1,425,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2013

    To provide renewed support for the Sloan Awards for Excellence in Teaching Mathematics and Science in New York City Public High Schools

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Mary McCormick

    This grant provides five years of continued support to the Fund for the City of New York for the administration of the Sloan Awards for Excellence in Teaching Science and Mathematics, an annual awards program that honors exceptional math and science teaching in New York City’s public high schools. Selected by a distinguished independent committee of scientists, educators, and civic leaders, each of seven yearly awardees receive $5,000 with an additional $2,500 going to his or her school to strengthen its science and mathematics program. Grant funds support the administration of the awards, selection of candidates, press and media outreach, and an annual ceremony honoring the winners.

    To provide renewed support for the Sloan Awards for Excellence in Teaching Mathematics and Science in New York City Public High Schools

    More
  • grantee: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
    amount: $3,000,000
    city: Cold Spring Harbor, NY
    year: 2013

    To provide start-up funds for Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory's (CSHL) new DNA Center in New York City

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator David Micklos

    The DNA Learning Center, operated by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, is the world’s largest provider of student lab instruction in molecular genetics, operating six teaching laboratories in Cold Spring Harbor, Lake Success, and Harlem. More than 265,000 precollege students have conducted hands-on experiments at DNA Learning Center locations since its first teaching lab opened, and each year about 30,000 New York area students receive science enrichment during half-day field trips, in-school visits, and week-long DNA camps administered by the Center.   The Center has also popularized several useful methods for delivering laboratory instruction in genetics to large numbers of teachers and students—including equipment-sharing consortia, mobile vans to carry instructional labs to remote sites, and laboratory field trips.This grant provides partial support for the opening of a new DNA Learning Center location in New York City. The new location will bring high-quality molecular genetics education to an estimated 45,000 New York City students annually, and will provide significant educational opportunities to low-income, minority, and underserved student populations.

    To provide start-up funds for Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory's (CSHL) new DNA Center in New York City

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Berkeley
    amount: $359,402
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2013

    To investigate and promote transparency standards for social science research

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Edward Miguel

    This grant supports the development and organization of two four-day conferences that aim to build consensus within the social scientific community around the need for better data sharing and transparency and to investigate and discuss new approaches for doing so. Berkeley economist Edward Miguel, Director of the Berkeley Initiative for Transparency in the Social Sciences, will develop and host the conferences, to be held in the summers 2014 and 2015, and will focus on developing common transparency standards for academic publishers and on training early-career social scientists in best practices when conducting empirical research. Additional grant funds support a series of small grants for innovative student demonstration projects to increase adoption of more transparent research practices.

    To investigate and promote transparency standards for social science research

    More
  • grantee: Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association Inc.
    amount: $1,500,000
    city: Arlington, VA
    year: 2013

    For high quality on-air and online coverage of economic and financial topics on PBS’s NewsHour

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Television
    • Investigator Linda Winslow

    This grant provides two years of continued support for the production and broadcast of high-quality economics, business, and financial reporting on The PBS NewsHour. Led by veteran correspondent Paul Solman, the Newshour team will produce approximately 80 five-to-ten minute video segments on economic and financial topics for broadcast, distributing them through on-air broadcast, the NewsHour website, social media, and various partnerships with partners like the Council for Economic Education and PBS Teachers. Additional original content will be produced and distributed exclusively for Web audiences, including blog posts, multimedia features, and a recurring online Q-and-A with Solman himself.

    For high quality on-air and online coverage of economic and financial topics on PBS’s NewsHour

    More
  • grantee: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    amount: $765,900
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2013

    To support the NBER Summer Institute

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Janet Currie

    The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) Summer Institute is arguably the most important and influential annual event for empirical economists. For three weeks, more than 2,000 economists convene to participate in at least one of more than 50 workshops covering issues in labor economics, aging, health and other traditional subjects. This grant provides three years of continued support to NBER for the administration of the Summer Institute. In addition to defraying administrative expenses, funds support special methodological lectures at the Institute, the videotaping of sessions for wider distribution, and scholarships that underwrite the participation of emerging scholars from underrepresented groups.

    To support the NBER Summer Institute

    More
  • grantee: New York University
    amount: $200,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2013

    To conduct planning activities for four projects at the Center for Urban Science and Progress

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Aristides Patrinos

    In 2012, New York University established the Center for Urban Science and Progress (CUSP), a new center dedicated to conducting research and education in the emerging field of urban informatics. Using vast data sets and new tools and strategies, CUSP plans to address the critical challenges facing cities, including infrastructure, technology integration, energy efficiency, transportation congestion, public safety, and public health. Funds from this grant provide support for the planning of four major CUSP projects: the Quantified Community project, which aims to fully instrument a section of the city to acquire and use the data collected by sensors as well as other data streams; the Urban Microbiome project, which aims to study the city’s microbiological ecosystems; the Urban Observatory project, which aims to develop and deploy new sensor technologies around the city; and the Data Warehouse project, which aims to construct a pioneering computing center to facilitate the storage, management, curation, analysis, and use of urban informatics data. Grant funds will support planning of these four projects, the production of white papers examining benefits, costs, and potential obstacles, and the production of a detailed project timelines, budgets, and workplans.

    To conduct planning activities for four projects at the Center for Urban Science and Progress

    More
  • grantee: New York University
    amount: $210,450
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2013

    To study flood insurance, including the uptake, distributional, and incentive effects of Super Storm Sandy

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Richard Revesz

    This grant supports the research of New York University professor Richard Revesz, who is studying the effects of the National Flood Insurance Program, which provides subsidized flood insurance to at-risk communities in exchange for implementing floodplain management ordinances that would make future construction less vulnerable to the damage caused by flooding. Revesz will investigate a series of interrelated issues, including who primarily benefits from the program, how it affects construction decisions, how to estimate costs and benefits, and what “moral hazard” or “adverse selection” problems the program creates. Particular emphasis will be based on investigating consumer, government and firm behavior in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, which caused massive flooding in the New York City metropolitan area in 2012.

    To study flood insurance, including the uptake, distributional, and incentive effects of Super Storm Sandy

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Berkeley
    amount: $200,000
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2013

    To conduct preliminary research on the chemical emissions from human occupancy of indoor spaces

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Chemistry of Indoor Environments
    • Investigator William Nazaroff

    This grant supports a joint project by environmental engineer William Nazaroff and atmospheric chemist Allen Goldstein at the University of California, Berkeley to study chemical emissions from human occupancy in indoor spaces. Nazaroff and Goldstein will develop suitable sampling and analysis protocols for simultaneous indoor and outdoor measurements of airborne gaseous and particulate species and measure indoor and outdoor air concentrations in university classrooms, both while vacant and while occupied.  Using these measurements, they will develop models to compute emission rates for a spectrum of organic and inorganic chemicals associated with human occupancy.  The team expects to produce at least two peer-reviewed articles and will present their findings at national and international meetings.  They will also prepare a short report that outlines important research questions and obstacles to be overcome in order to advance our understanding of indoor chemistry.  Grant funds also provide support for the training of one postdoctoral fellow.

    To conduct preliminary research on the chemical emissions from human occupancy of indoor spaces

    More
  • grantee: University of Toronto
    amount: $200,000
    city: Toronto, ON, Canada
    year: 2013

    To conduct preliminary research on the chemistry occurring on indoor surfaces

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Chemistry of Indoor Environments
    • Investigator Jonathan Abbatt

    Funds from this grant support a project by Jonathan Abbatt, professor of chemistry at the University of Toronto, to conduct preliminary research on the chemistry occurring on indoor surfaces. Indoor surfaces are covered by films of semi-volatile chemical species that arise through the deposition of particulates, oils, and gas-phase oxidation products. This layer is known as the semi-volatile surface layer (SVSL). Abbatt’s research will address three fundamental issues associated with indoor SVSLs. First, what is the chemical composition of indoor SVSL’s, and how is it influenced by deposition time and location? Second, how reactive are indoor SVSL’s as a function of environmental conditions, such as relative humidity? Third, what analytical techniques are well suited for the chemical study of indoor SVSLs?Abbat will conduct studies on both model and genuine surfaces using a variety of analytical techniques including infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and Direct Analysis in Real Time–Mass Spectrometry (DART-MS), a new technology that has not yet been applied to the study of indoor chemistry.

    To conduct preliminary research on the chemistry occurring on indoor surfaces

    More
  • grantee: New York University
    amount: $1,500,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2013

    To advance data-intensive scientific discovery through new methods, new tools, new partnerships, and new career paths

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Yann LeCun

    While data science is already contributing to scientific discovery, substantial systemic challenges need to be overcome to maximize its impact on academic research. This is one of three grants, made as part of a five-year, $37.8 million partnership with the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, that aim to empower natural and social scientists by strengthening the ability of select U.S. colleges and universities to successfully conduct data-rich and computationally intensive research. Over the next three years, supported campuses will use grant funds to develop meaningful and sustained interactions between disciplinary researchers in the natural and social sciences (e.g. astrophysics, genetics, economics) and researchers in the methodological fields that deal with large scale data collection and analysis (e.g. applied mathematics, statistics, computer science). In addition, supported campuses will establish long term, sustainable career paths for data scientists, and develop an ecosystem of analytical tools and research practices that will facilitate effective research across a range of diverse scientific disciplines. Additional funded activities include holding workshops and training sessions for scientists who work with data, identifying data-science bottlenecks faced by researchers, and disseminating lessons-learned to the academic and research communities.

    To advance data-intensive scientific discovery through new methods, new tools, new partnerships, and new career paths

    More
  • grantee: University of Washington
    amount: $1,500,000
    city: Seattle, WA
    year: 2013

    To advance data-intensive scientific discovery through new methods, new tools, new partnerships, and new career paths

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Edward Lazowska

    While data science is already contributing to scientific discovery, substantial systemic challenges need to be overcome to maximize its impact on academic research. This is one of three grants, made as part of a five-year, $37.8 million partnership with the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, that aim to empower natural and social scientists by strengthening the ability of select U.S. colleges and universities to successfully conduct data-rich and computationally intensive research. Over the next three years, supported campuses will use grant funds to develop meaningful and sustained interactions between disciplinary researchers in the natural and social sciences (e.g. astrophysics, genetics, economics) and researchers in the methodological fields that deal with large scale data collection and analysis (e.g. applied mathematics, statistics, computer science). In addition, supported campuses will establish long term, sustainable career paths for data scientists, and develop an ecosystem of analytical tools and research practices that will facilitate effective research across a range of diverse scientific disciplines. Additional funded activities include holding workshops and training sessions for scientists who work with data, identifying data-science bottlenecks faced by researchers, and disseminating lessons-learned to the academic and research communities.

    To advance data-intensive scientific discovery through new methods, new tools, new partnerships, and new career paths

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Berkeley
    amount: $1,500,000
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2013

    To advance data-intensive scientific discovery through new methods, new tools, new partnerships, and new career paths

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Saul Perlmutter

    While data science is already contributing to scientific discovery, substantial systemic challenges need to be overcome to maximize its impact on academic research. This is one of three grants, made as part of a five-year, $37.8 million partnership with the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, that aim to empower natural and social scientists by strengthening the ability of select U.S. colleges and universities to successfully conduct data-rich and computationally intensive research. Over the next three years, supported campuses will use grant funds to develop meaningful and sustained interactions between disciplinary researchers in the natural and social sciences (e.g. astrophysics, genetics, economics) and researchers in the methodological fields that deal with large scale data collection and analysis (e.g. applied mathematics, statistics, computer science). In addition, supported campuses will establish long term, sustainable career paths for data scientists, and develop an ecosystem of analytical tools and research practices that will facilitate effective research across a range of diverse scientific disciplines. Additional funded activities include holding workshops and training sessions for scientists who work with data, identifying data-science bottlenecks faced by researchers, and disseminating lessons-learned to the academic and research communities.

    To advance data-intensive scientific discovery through new methods, new tools, new partnerships, and new career paths

    More
  • grantee: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
    amount: $600,001
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2013

    To work with government, emergent distributed networks, and other stakeholders to make mass collaboration for data collection, analysis, and problem-solving more trustworthy, efficient, and actionable

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Lea Shanley

    While citizen science projects, crowdsourcing, and other forms of mass collaboration on the Web hold the promise to contribute significantly to scientific research, they often lack adequate institutional or systemic controls to properly mitigate data privacy, cybersecurity, legal, and financial risks. Without such controls in place, government entities or other large institutions are often barred from collaborating with citizen science initiatives, limiting their usefulness and impact. This grant supports efforts by the Commons Lab at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars to help reduce these barriers by identifying, assessing and prioritizing the risks associated with mass collaboration projects and developing standards, policies, best practices, and other resources that both government agencies and citizen entrepreneurs can use to work together more effectively. Over the next two years, the Wilson Center will publish two peer-reviewed journal articles on privacy, human subjects, and intellectual property issues; host a roundtable series on cybersecurity; construct an inventory of U.S. government involvement in mass collaboration projects; hold a policy briefing for government agencies; and analyze governance models for mass collaboration projects.

    To work with government, emergent distributed networks, and other stakeholders to make mass collaboration for data collection, analysis, and problem-solving more trustworthy, efficient, and actionable

    More
  • grantee: Council on Foreign Relations
    amount: $1,114,059
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2013

    To conduct a program of research and publication on energy, economics, and international security, especially related to oil and gas

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Initiative Energy Security
    • Investigator James Lindsay

    This grant provides three years of continued support to the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) for its Project on Energy and National Security, a research initiative that focuses on increasing our understanding of issues at the intersection of energy, economics, and international security. Led by CFR’s Michael Levi, the project will examine a diverse array of issues, including how national oil companies make investment and production decisions, how infrastructure constraints cause divergence in regional oil prices, the economic and security implications of a significant drop in global oil prices, the consequences of the shifting trade in liquid fuels, and evaluating the effectiveness and consequences of international sanctions against petro-states. Additional grant funds support an annual workshop to discuss ongoing projects and findings, and outreach activities to engage policymakers, regulators, thought-leaders, industry, and the public.

    To conduct a program of research and publication on energy, economics, and international security, especially related to oil and gas

    More
  • grantee: Bipartisan Policy Center
    amount: $349,989
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2013

    To build broad-based support from multiple stakeholder groups on options to address the nation’s nuclear waste challenges

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Initiative Nuclear Nonproliferation
    • Investigator Julie Anderson

    Funds from this grant support efforts by the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) to build broad-based support from multiple stakeholder groups on options to address the nation’s nuclear waste challenges. To guide the overall effort, BPC will convene a high-level advisory council to provide project direction and serve as representatives when meeting with congressional and executive branch leadership. The three-to-five-member advisory council will be composed primarily of former members of the Secretary of Energy’s Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future and include individuals that span industry, nonproliferation, and environmental perspectives. Under the leadership of the advisory board, BPC will assess the level of support for and opposition to implementing the various proposals on nuclear waste management and disposal by hosting three full-day regional workshops, one in Washington and two elsewhere, to engage policymakers and stakeholders on the issues surrounding nuclear waste. Each workshop will begin with a brief stage-setting presentation by experts on the substance and status of the various proposals and then move to a structured discussion. Throughout the project, the BPC project team will also stand ready and, if requested, will assist legislators, regulators, and policy developers to better understand both technical and policy issues and stakeholders’ views.The project has been carefully designed to stay well clear of endorsing any particular policy proposal.

    To build broad-based support from multiple stakeholder groups on options to address the nation’s nuclear waste challenges

    More
  • grantee: University of Oxford
    amount: $80,000
    city: Oxford, United Kingdom
    year: 2013

    To organize an international workshop of early career scientists from around the world conducting research relevant to the Deep Carbon Observatory

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Christopher Ballentine

    To organize an international workshop of early career scientists from around the world conducting research relevant to the Deep Carbon Observatory

    More
  • grantee: Project Implicit, Inc.
    amount: $49,500
    city: Lexington, MA
    year: 2013

    To lay the necessary groundwork for a replication website initiative, aimed at increasing and disseminating replications

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Stephanie Wykstra

    To lay the necessary groundwork for a replication website initiative, aimed at increasing and disseminating replications

    More
  • grantee: University of Colorado, Boulder
    amount: $30,000
    city: Boulder, CO
    year: 2013

    To examine the role of flood damage and recovery to house-associated microbial communities

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Noah Fierer

    To examine the role of flood damage and recovery to house-associated microbial communities

    More
  • grantee: Third Sector New England Inc
    amount: $125,000
    city: Boston, MA
    year: 2013

    To test hypotheses with as much statistical power as a randomized controlled trial but with smaller control and treatment groups

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Jonathan Goodman

    To test hypotheses with as much statistical power as a randomized controlled trial but with smaller control and treatment groups

    More
  • grantee: Columbia University
    amount: $50,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2013

    For support of the Center on Global Energy Policy's external speaker series to help inform public debate

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Jason Bordoff

    For support of the Center on Global Energy Policy's external speaker series to help inform public debate

    More
  • grantee: New York University
    amount: $124,308
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2013

    To study the accessibility and effectiveness of programs for gifted and talented students offered by New York City’s Department of Education

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator James Kemple

    To study the accessibility and effectiveness of programs for gifted and talented students offered by New York City’s Department of Education

    More
  • grantee: Association of Research Libraries
    amount: $50,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2013

    To develop a proof of concept prototype for the SHared Access Research Ecosystem (SHARE) federated digital repository for the public access, text and data mining, and long? term preservation of research articles and data produced by higher education

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Elliott Shore

    To develop a proof of concept prototype for the SHared Access Research Ecosystem (SHARE) federated digital repository for the public access, text and data mining, and long? term preservation of research articles and data produced by higher education

    More
  • grantee: Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities
    amount: $20,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2013

    To create more robust deal flow as measured by the launching of new ventures, increased number of tech-entrepreneurs at both the faculty and student levels, and increased advocacy for innovation, commercialization and tech-entrepreneurial activities

    • Program Higher Education
    • Initiative Professional Advancement of Underrepresented Groups
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator John Lee

    To create more robust deal flow as measured by the launching of new ventures, increased number of tech-entrepreneurs at both the faculty and student levels, and increased advocacy for innovation, commercialization and tech-entrepreneurial activities

    More
  • grantee: Technology Affinity Group
    amount: $17,500
    city: Wayne, PA
    year: 2013

    To support development and implementation of a standards-based common grantee database

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Lisa Pool

    To support development and implementation of a standards-based common grantee database

    More
  • grantee: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
    amount: $120,000
    city: Blacksburg, VA
    year: 2013

    To characterize the bacterial and viral microbiome of the air and surfaces in a daycare setting

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Aaron Prussin

    To characterize the bacterial and viral microbiome of the air and surfaces in a daycare setting

    More
  • grantee: Stanford University
    amount: $33,000
    city: Stanford, CA
    year: 2013

    To organize an international conference on regional carbon policies to mitigate climate change and its impacts around the world

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Frank Wolak

    To organize an international conference on regional carbon policies to mitigate climate change and its impacts around the world

    More
  • grantee: Skidmore College
    amount: $74,980
    city: Saratoga Springs, NY
    year: 2013

    To reduce science faculty members' explicit (consciously-held) and implicit (automatic or unintended) gender biases

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Corinne Moss-Racusin

    To reduce science faculty members' explicit (consciously-held) and implicit (automatic or unintended) gender biases

    More
  • grantee: Institute for Advanced Study
    amount: $124,995
    city: Princeton, NJ
    year: 2013

    To organize and launch efforts to reform postsecondary mathematics education

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Phillip Griffiths

    To organize and launch efforts to reform postsecondary mathematics education

    More
  • grantee: Fedcap Rehabilitation Services Inc
    amount: $105,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2013

    To build an interactive website in order to launch and administer a two-year fellowship work program re-employing older (50+) senior managers in multiple New York City metro area industries

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Joan Biermann

    To build an interactive website in order to launch and administer a two-year fellowship work program re-employing older (50+) senior managers in multiple New York City metro area industries

    More
  • grantee: Rice University
    amount: $15,000
    city: Houston, TX
    year: 2013

    To convene researchers funded by the Sloan Foundation to work on aspects of U.S. shale gas development

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Initiative Shale Gas
    • Investigator Kenneth Medlock

    To convene researchers funded by the Sloan Foundation to work on aspects of U.S. shale gas development

    More
  • grantee: National Academy of Sciences
    amount: $125,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2013

    To strengthen the National Academy of Sciences as it celebrates its 150th anniversary

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Kenneth Fulton

    To strengthen the National Academy of Sciences as it celebrates its 150th anniversary

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Davis
    amount: $20,000
    city: Davis, CA
    year: 2013

    To maintain the 16 % minority enrollment rate in the department of chemistry and to determine whether providing small amounts of funds to doctoral students when they initially arrive at the university can maintain the small dropout rate

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator William Jackson

    To maintain the 16 % minority enrollment rate in the department of chemistry and to determine whether providing small amounts of funds to doctoral students when they initially arrive at the university can maintain the small dropout rate

    More
  • grantee: The University of Hong Kong
    amount: $74,918
    city:  
    year: 2013

    To support the Second International Sloan Symposium on Microbiology of the Built Environment at Indoor Air 2014 in Hong Kong

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Yuguo Li

    To support the Second International Sloan Symposium on Microbiology of the Built Environment at Indoor Air 2014 in Hong Kong

    More
  • grantee: Library Foundation of Los Angeles
    amount: $50,000
    city: Los Angeles, CA
    year: 2013

    As support for the scientific component of a month-long multimedia library program on the contemporary relevance of Moby Dick

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program New Media
    • Investigator Kenneth Brecher

    As support for the scientific component of a month-long multimedia library program on the contemporary relevance of Moby Dick

    More
  • grantee: Duke University
    amount: $124,346
    city: Durham, NC
    year: 2013

    To identify key fiscal issues faced by local governments experiencing new or increased oil and gas development and describe policy approaches for managing these issues

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Initiative Shale Gas
    • Investigator Richard Newell

    To identify key fiscal issues faced by local governments experiencing new or increased oil and gas development and describe policy approaches for managing these issues

    More
  • grantee: American Council on Education
    amount: $118,259
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2013

    To plan and execute a culminating event for the National Challenge for Higher Education to ensure a diverse and excellent 21st century work force by providing workplace flexibility for faculty at all stages of their careers

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Jean McLaughlin

    To plan and execute a culminating event for the National Challenge for Higher Education to ensure a diverse and excellent 21st century work force by providing workplace flexibility for faculty at all stages of their careers

    More
  • grantee: University of Arizona
    amount: $123,050
    city: Tucson, AZ
    year: 2013

    To plan for a new collaborative direction for the four campus groups that now constitute the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership (SIGP)

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Maria Velez

    To plan for a new collaborative direction for the four campus groups that now constitute the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership (SIGP)

    More
  • grantee: Yale University
    amount: $66,971
    city: New Haven, CT
    year: 2013

    To support a workshop on modeling of the deep carbon cycle for the Deep Carbon Observatory

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator David Bercovici

    To support a workshop on modeling of the deep carbon cycle for the Deep Carbon Observatory

    More
  • grantee: American Society for Engineering Education
    amount: $14,391
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2013

    To produce a series of video segments to serve as a catalyst for engineering deans, chairs, and faculty to discuss issues related to specific impediments to increasing diversity, and strategies to overcome such impediments

    • Program Higher Education
    • Initiative Professional Advancement of Underrepresented Groups
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Ashok Agrawal

    To produce a series of video segments to serve as a catalyst for engineering deans, chairs, and faculty to discuss issues related to specific impediments to increasing diversity, and strategies to overcome such impediments

    More
  • grantee: Rice University
    amount: $96,566
    city: Houston, TX
    year: 2013

    To convene a meeting on new technologies in deep carbon science potentially interesting to relevant industries and to initiate studies on decarbonation of continental crust

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Rajdeep Dasgupta

    To convene a meeting on new technologies in deep carbon science potentially interesting to relevant industries and to initiate studies on decarbonation of continental crust

    More
  • grantee: National Academy of Sciences
    amount: $125,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2013

    To convene a workshop to explore the key stress points in the arc of an academic research career and the impact that policies and practices in each of these areas has on the others

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Kevin Finneran

    To convene a workshop to explore the key stress points in the arc of an academic research career and the impact that policies and practices in each of these areas has on the others

    More
  • grantee: Resources for the Future, Inc.
    amount: $400,510
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2013

    To develop among various stakeholders suggested guidelines on effective ways to address high-priority risk pathways associated with shale gas development

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Initiative Shale Gas
    • Investigator Alan Krupnick

    Funds from this grant support a collaboration between Alan Krupnick and colleagues at Resources for the Future (RFF), and a team from the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), to develop suggested guidelines on effective ways to address high-priority pathways associated with shale gas development. Starting with a list of 15 risk pathways all identified as high priority by a diverse selection of knowledgeable industry insiders, environmentalists, and regulators, RFF will collect and integrate information on risks, mitigation costs, regulation, and best practices for each pathway, culminating in a cost-benefit and modeling analysis of regulatory options for addressing the least controversial, most pressing risks associated with shale gas extraction. EDF will then involve a small group of motivated leaders from industry, nongovernmental organizations, regulatory bodies, and academia in a sustained attempt to build a consensus around guidelines for risk mitigation in shale gas development that will aim at improving both government regulation and industry practices. Additional grant funds support outreach and educational efforts, including outreach through websites, newsletters, blogs, popular articles, discussion papers, conference presentations, and peer-reviewed articles.

    To develop among various stakeholders suggested guidelines on effective ways to address high-priority risk pathways associated with shale gas development

    More
  • grantee: Rice University
    amount: $275,362
    city: Houston, TX
    year: 2013

    To understand how new and proposed federal and local regulations will influence future natural gas resource development and pricing in the United States

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Initiative Shale Gas
    • Investigator Kenneth Medlock

    This grant supports the work of Dr. Kenneth Medlock at Rice University to understand how new and proposed federal and local regulations will influence natural gas resource development and pricing in the United States. Medlock will identify the range of federal, state, and local policy options being proposed by specific stakeholders, legislators, and special interest groups regarding shale gas production in the United States. He will then specify several potential regulatory scenarios for analysis. Using the Rice World Gas Trade Model, he will then quantify the impact of proposed changes in regulation and taxation on the pace and scope of natural gas resource development and on the price of natural gas in different regions of the world. This analysis will allow him to highlight the regional and global market implications and the international geopolitical implications of the potential policies. Grant funds will support an initial exploratory workshop to identify relevant policies; analysis and modelling; an interim workshop; and a major capstone conference once his analysis is completed. Written products will include two to three academic papers, six to eight economic modeling projections with regional focus, a study monograph, and a policy white paper.

    To understand how new and proposed federal and local regulations will influence future natural gas resource development and pricing in the United States

    More
  • grantee: Ohio State University
    amount: $1,250,000
    city: Columbus, OH
    year: 2013

    To foster the Deep Energy community of the Deep Carbon Observatory with studies on the origin and distribution of abiotic hydrocarbons

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator David Cole

    This grant provides continued research support to the Deep Energy community of the Deep Carbon Observatory. Led by an international team of 21 scientists from eight nations and co-chaired by David Cole of Ohio State University and Isabelle Daniel of the University of Lyon, the Deep Energy research team is conducting an ambitious research agenda aimed at transforming our understanding of the origins, abundance, and distribution of abiotic hydrocarbons in the deep Earth. Over the next two years, the team will expand its sampling to 10 key geologically representative field sites around the globe; develop and deploy new instruments for sample collection and analysis; set common protocols for the collection, preservation, and analysis of samples; and work toward the development of rigorous, effective methods for distinguishing biotic from abiotic hydrocarbon.

    To foster the Deep Energy community of the Deep Carbon Observatory with studies on the origin and distribution of abiotic hydrocarbons

    More
  • grantee: ORCID
    amount: $349,659
    city: Bethesda, MD
    year: 2013

    To encourage the near-term implementation of ORCID identifiers by universities and professional associations, through a grant competition and community outreach

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Laurel Haak

    This grant supports efforts to increase adoption of the Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID), an enterprising new system that aims to provide a unique, persistent identifier to every researcher on the planet, allowing scholars, content aggregators, and the public to easily pull together research associated with that researcher’s ID, wherever it is published, however the author’s name appears. Funds from this grant will support expansion of ORCID through a small grant competition that challenges universities, professional societies, and other academic institutions to implement ORCID identifiers into existing repository, learning management, academic profile, conference management, and other technology platforms. Ten winners will be chosen from grant applicants based on the quality of the plans submitted and the likelihood that their work will lower barriers to ORCID adoption by peers.

    To encourage the near-term implementation of ORCID identifiers by universities and professional associations, through a grant competition and community outreach

    More
  • grantee: ImpactStory
    amount: $500,000
    city: Carrboro, NC
    year: 2013

    To support the scaling and further development to sustainability of ImpactStory, a nonprofit open altmetrics platform that helps scholars evaluate, sort, consume, and reward web-native products

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Jason Priem

    One of the goals of Sloan’s Scholarly Communication program is to better facilitate the discovery and review of research products available on the Internet. Since many of these materials (from working papers to datasets) do not appear in conventional journals, a small but growing community has begun to explore the idea of alternative metrics of value and impact, ranging from downloads and inclusion in personal reference manager databases to social media references.Funds from this grant support the continued development of ImpactStory, an innovative altmetrics platform that aggregates citations and other mentions of academic scholarship on the Internet, including references from arXiv, Mendeley, PLOS, Dryad, PubMed and Scopus, as well as Facebook, Vimeo, YouTube, and Wikipedia. Grant funds support development of the platform and the creation and implementation of a long term institutional sustainability plan.

    To support the scaling and further development to sustainability of ImpactStory, a nonprofit open altmetrics platform that helps scholars evaluate, sort, consume, and reward web-native products

    More
  • grantee: The American Assembly
    amount: $210,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2013

    To develop a vision and prototype for a large-scale online database of university course syllabi

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Joe Karaganis

    While there are currently many different ways to find out how much a given article or book has been cited, there is no way to know how many times it has appeared on a syllabus, and the impact of scholarly research in the classroom is a blind spot for which we have no accessible data. One could, for example, imagine a “syllabus count” alongside a citation count, not just for articles and books, but also for all sorts of other resources from datasets to websites. Beyond individual impact, a broad, computable archive of syllabi could be a valuable resource for research on the evolution of disciplines.This grant supports efforts by Joe Karaganis of the American Assembly to develop just such a resource.  Karaganis has assembled a diverse team of data providers, application designers and other collaborators to coordinate a planning and prototyping process aimed at bringing a robust syllabus archive to life.

    To develop a vision and prototype for a large-scale online database of university course syllabi

    More
  • grantee: National Information Standards Organization
    amount: $207,533
    city: Baltimore, MD
    year: 2013

    To study, propose, and develop community-based standards or recommended practices in the field of alternative metrics for research products

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Todd Carpenter

    Altmetrics aggregators who draw together diverse sources of data about the use of research products face a fundamental challenge: the myriad dissemination and archival platforms used by academics can make it difficult (if not impossible) to get consistent and normalized access to the data they need. While a general consensus is emerging among online publishers and repositories of articles, datasets, software, and other materials that such impact data could be valuable to their users, no clear standards exist governing how organizations should make that data accessible to others.This grant funds efforts by the National Information Standards Organization (NISO) to lead a two-year standard-setting process for altmetrics data. NISO will begin by hosting a series of scoping meetings over the first 12 months of the grant, bringing stakeholders together to map the most salient sources of data based on demand from altmetrics services as well as the researchers, funders, and deans that represent altmetrics end-users. After synthesizing those findings in a white paper for wide distribution, NISO will shift into a formal standards-setting process targeting the most pressing use cases, ultimately producing standard data exchange formats for adoption by those who produce and consume altmetrics data.

    To study, propose, and develop community-based standards or recommended practices in the field of alternative metrics for research products

    More
  • grantee: Hamptons International Film Festival
    amount: $186,467
    city: East Hampton, NY
    year: 2013

    To commission and spotlight science and technology films and develop science and technology screenplays into production

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Anne Chaisson

    This grant provides one year of continued support to the Hamptons International Film Festival for a variety of interconnected activities to promote the development, production, and distribution of accurate, high-quality science themed screenplays and feature films. Supported activities include a feature film prize given to the best science-themed film submitted to the Festival; an accompanying panel and reception; a five-day screenwriters’ lab to assist writers with screenplays in development; a series of screenings of science-themed works in and around New York City; and a production grant to assist with the promotion of a high-quality science-themed film.

    To commission and spotlight science and technology films and develop science and technology screenplays into production

    More
  • grantee: Carnegie Mellon University
    amount: $195,000
    city: Pittsburgh, PA
    year: 2013

    To encourage top film students to write screenplays about science and technology

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Robert Handel

    This grant provides two years of continued support for a series of initiatives at the Carnegie Mellon School of Dramatic Writing to encourage its film students to write high quality, accurate screenplays about science and technology or feature scientists, engineers, or mathematicians as major characters. Funded activities include a yearly symposium for film students introducing them to internationally recognized scientists; two semesters of training in screenwriting; guest-faculty workshops by accomplished mentor screenwriters; a program pairing students with scientific advisors to ensure the accuracy of scripts’ scientific content; the presentation of two awards for the best student science-themed script; and a variety of professional development activities, including industry showcases of student work in both Los Angeles and New York.

    To encourage top film students to write screenplays about science and technology

    More
  • grantee: University of Oregon
    amount: $1,325,000
    city: Eugene, OR
    year: 2013

    To provide renewed support for the Biology and Built Environment (BioBE) Center

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Jessica Green

    The grant provides two years of continued support to the University of Oregon’s Biology and the Built Environment (BioBE) Center, a pioneering research center founded with Sloan support and dedicated to developing a predictive science of the built environment microbiome through partnerships between architects and biologists. Over the next two years, the BioBE Center, led by microbiologist Jessica Green, will address two primary research questions: what dispersal vectors (e.g., ventilation and human occupancy) significantly influence the microbial profile of the built environment?  And what attributes of the built environment (e.g., building materials and interior temperature) shape microbial community composition indoors?  Research will be driven by the latest advances in microbiological instrumentation and methodology, including a climate-controlled chamber, microbiome diversity mapping, high throughput sequencing and analysis, and new visualization tools.  In addition to conducting basic research and disseminating results through peer-reviewed journals and conferences, the BioBE team will be involved in educating the next generation of built environment microbiologists, training at least one undergraduate student, three graduate students, two postdoctoral fellows, and two architectural research faculty; and developing a new undergraduate course focused on the biology of the built environment.

    To provide renewed support for the Biology and Built Environment (BioBE) Center

    More
  • grantee: University of California, San Francisco
    amount: $300,000
    city: San Francisco, CA
    year: 2013

    To examine the house dust fungal microbiome

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Susan Lynch

    This grant supports the expansion of a major $9 million, multi-institutional research project funded by the National Institute of Health. The NIH study aims to determine the bacterial community composition of 340 paired house dust and infant stool samples in a case cohort epidemiological study. Sloan funds will enable the research team to expand their analysis to not just bacteria, but fungi. Led Dr. Susan Lynch of the University of California, San Francisco, the research team will perform high resolution fungal community profiling of the 340 paired samples, conduct a variety of statistical analyses to determine whether relationships exist between fungal and bacterial community composition in house dust and infant stool, and use multivariate regression analysis to relate fungal/bacterial house dust microbiome composition to measure house characteristics and allergic disease outcomes to identify key factors that influence the home and infant stool microbiome and are related to human health status.

    To examine the house dust fungal microbiome

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Irvine
    amount: $322,392
    city: Irvine, CA
    year: 2013

    To conduct newly-designed field experiments on age discrimination in U.S. labor markets, eliminating potential biases in existing studies, so as to provide policymakers with a firmer basis for understanding age discrimination in hiring

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator David Neumark

    Audit/correspondence (AC) studies are the most frequently used research design for ascertaining the extent of age discrimination in hiring. This design involves submitting nearly identical resumes online to posted job openings. Resumes differ only by the age of the applicant. Discrimination is ascertained if younger applicants get more call-backs than do older ones. This methodology, however, appears likely to generate bias in favor of finding age discrimination. Because resumes give both younger and older applicants the same, low level of experience, the older applicant will appear to have “holes” in her work history that are likely to be viewed unfavorably. On the other hand, perceived (but unmeasured) differences in the human capital investment of older workers might lead employers to prefer older to younger applicants, biasing the result of audit studies in the opposite direction.This grant provides support for two field experiments by David Neumark of the University of California, Irvine aimed at increasing our understanding of the limitations of the audit/correspondence framework. The first will field an audit study where the resumes of older workers are not identical with their younger counterparts, but instead include work experience commensurate with their age. A finding that older workers are still less likely to be called for interviews may better match the legal standard for age discrimination. A second audit study will be fielded for both types of older applicants—those with equal low levels of experience like in past studies, and those with experience commensurate with age. Differential employer response to these resumes will capture differences in indicators of human capital among older workers.

    To conduct newly-designed field experiments on age discrimination in U.S. labor markets, eliminating potential biases in existing studies, so as to provide policymakers with a firmer basis for understanding age discrimination in hiring

    More
  • grantee: The Brookings Institution
    amount: $407,959
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2013

    To investigate the divergence of retirement and mortality trends between high- and low-income workers and determine the impact of the interaction of these two trends on the income distribution of the aged and the optimal design of public pension formulas

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Gary Burtless

    This grant to The Brookings Institution funds the work of economists Gary Burtless and Bary Bosworth, who are investigating whether longer lifespans coupled with longer work lives and delayed retirement leads to greater income disparities among Americans aged 60 to 74. Burtless and Bosworth will estimate the effects of delayed retirement on the distribution of annual incomes among workers and retirees between 60 and 74; assess the effects of delayed retirement on inequality trends among individuals past age 75; estimate the effects of delayed retirement and lengthening life spans on the distribution of lifetime incomes; and offer conclusions about the public policy implications of the changing relationship among income, expected longevity, and retirement behavior.The income distribution issues cited above are particularly important as Congress considers reforms to the Social Security and Medicare systems in order to maintain their financial solvency. The tradeoff between restoring financial balance and avoiding adverse distributional effects is a key consideration in designing sensible reforms. The results from this research are essential to understanding possible adverse distributional effects.

    To investigate the divergence of retirement and mortality trends between high- and low-income workers and determine the impact of the interaction of these two trends on the income distribution of the aged and the optimal design of public pension formulas

    More
  • grantee: Cornell University
    amount: $174,458
    city: Ithaca, NY
    year: 2013

    To expand the understanding of age discrimination in employment through comprehensive examination of Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) charges

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Sarah von Schrader

    In 1967, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) was passed by Congress with the intent to “promote employment of older persons based on their ability rather than age; to prohibit arbitrary age discrimination in employment.” While it has been viewed as successful in increasing employment rates for older workers, research suggests that older worker stereotypes and age discrimination still persist—or at least the perception of this discrimination still exists. Age-related charges of discrimination brought forward to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) have been on the increase. Whilst that may be the case, there has not been systematic examination of these charges.This grant funds work by a team led by Sarah Von Schrader of Cornell University that combines descriptive analyses with model-based approaches to better understand the phenomenon of perceived age-discrimination in the workplace. The study will look at a number of factors, including the characteristics of ADEA charges, charging parties, and employers receiving charges over time; individual and contextual factors associated with the outcomes of ADEA charges; and the characteristics of employers, along with local labor market factors, associated with ADEA charges. Von Schrader and her team will use restricted access data sets from the EEOC in conducting this research. By developing a better understanding of perceived discrimination in the workplace, it will be possible to better identify policies and practices to mitigate such discrimination.

    To expand the understanding of age discrimination in employment through comprehensive examination of Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) charges

    More
  • grantee: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    amount: $282,710
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2013

    To better understand the retirement and work prospects of currently active college women by connecting events in their early adult lives to their later employment histories

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Claudia Goldin

    This grant funds work by economic historian Claudia Goldin and labor economist Lawrence Katz to understand how education, employment, marriage, fertility, and health events from college to mid-life shape employment and retirement later in life among college-educated women. Goldin and Katz will study cohorts born from the mid-1930s to the early 1960s and that entered college from around 1950 to 1980. These cohorts, born up to 30 years apart, will provide sharp contrasts and differences in early, late, or no marriage; types of subjects majored in college; work patterns and whether they were intermittent or continuous; and if and when they had children. All of these factors contribute to how long college-educated women remain in the labor force and under what conditions. While existing research examines distinct cohorts of women, this will be the first study to link systematically the older, younger, and transitional cohorts.In addition to peer-reviewed articles and research papers, the project team will organize a National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) conference and produce an NBER volume on women working longer.

    To better understand the retirement and work prospects of currently active college women by connecting events in their early adult lives to their later employment histories

    More
  • grantee: Science Festival Foundation
    amount: $1,300,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2013

    To support program development and production of the World Science Festival for two years

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program New Media
    • Investigator Tracy Day

    This grant provides two years of continued support to the Science Festival Foundation for development and production of the World Science Festival, a week-long celebration of all that is fun and fascinating about science. Held each year in New York City, the Festival brings together scientific luminaries, technologists, artists, tastemakers, and the public for a series of panels, lectures, demonstrations, exhibitions, and educational events that aim to make manifest how engagement with science is as indispensable to a rich life as other cultural mainstays like music, theater, and literature. Grants funds support the production of the 2014 and 2015 World Science Festivals; additional scientific programming to be produced year-round; expanded educational programming focused on reaching students; expansion of the Festival’s web offerings to enable participation for those outside New York; and the development and implementation of a long-term sustainability plan for the Festival.

    To support program development and production of the World Science Festival for two years

    More
  • grantee: Resources for the Future, Inc.
    amount: $466,337
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2013

    To study how information provision and disclosure policies can help or hinder the implementation of energy efficiency improvements

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Behavioral Economics and Household Finance (BEHF)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Karen Palmer

    The grants supports the work of a team led by Karen Palmer at Resources for the Future to try advance our understanding of the “energy efficiency paradox”, the puzzling phenomenon of consumers failing to adopt energy efficient technologies even when they will save both energy and money over the long run. Palmer and her team will focus on two specific research questions related to how information affects consumer behavior. First, do home energy audits fill an important information gap in homeowner’s awareness of energy efficiency costs and savings? Second, how do city ordinances that require the disclosure and benchmarking of energy use by owners of commercial and multifamily residential buildings affect rents, occupancy, and landlord investments in efficiency improvements?The project will produce two rich new datasets about home energy audits.  One is a survey of 1,600 households across 23 states.  Over 500 of these households will have had an energy audit recently.  The survey instrument explores topics that existing panels do not, such as salience, defaults, and other behavioral economics considerations; time and other nonmonetary transaction costs; and tests of recommendation recall by homeowners.  The second dataset will be administrative information from audit providers describing the services, recommendations, and follow-ups provided to each of their customers.  Grants funds will support data collection, analysis, and the dissemination of findings to the academic community and the public.

    To study how information provision and disclosure policies can help or hinder the implementation of energy efficiency improvements

    More
  • grantee: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    amount: $682,228
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2013

    To strengthen the theoretical and empirical research base on high-skilled immigration

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Economic Analysis of Science and Technology (EAST)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator William Kerr

    This grant supports efforts by William Kerr of the Harvard Business School and Sara Turner of the University of Virginia to establish a research network focusing on advancing theoretical and empirical research on high-skilled immigration. Over the next three-and-a-half years, the new research center will convene leading experts from labor economics, international trade, industrial organization, education, and other fields; develop a compelling research agenda; and publish the results of their work. Supported activities include an ongoing series of workshops, conferences, and panels; honoraria and travel expenses for researchers; funds for data acquisition; and fellowship support for one post-doctoral and three pre-doctoral scholars.

    To strengthen the theoretical and empirical research base on high-skilled immigration

    More
  • grantee: National Public Radio, Inc.
    amount: $300,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2013

    To support an innovative, on-air, and online multimedia reporter at the Science Desk for two years before NPR covers this new, full-time position

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Radio
    • Investigator Anne Gudenkauf

    Funds from this grant provide salary and administrative support for a full-time on-air and online multimedia storyteller working at National Public Radio’s (NPR) Science Desk. The new position, originally funded with Sloan support in 2012 as a one-year experiment, is tasked with enhancing NPR’s scientific coverage by supplementing traditional reporting with original animations, blog posts, illustrations, infographics, and video content, bringing NPRs high-quality reporting to new, digital audiences. This grant provides two years of bridge funding for the position after which it is anticipated NPR will incorporate the position into its yearly operating budget.

    To support an innovative, on-air, and online multimedia reporter at the Science Desk for two years before NPR covers this new, full-time position

    More
  • grantee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    amount: $3,562,684
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2013

    To launch a research network that promotes the rigorous empirical study of economic issues in North America

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Amy Finkelstein

    The grant provides partial support to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to expand its influential Abdul Lateef Jameel-Poverty Action Laboratory (J-PAL), creating a sister network focused on the use of randomized controlled trials to study economic issues in North America. Led by economists Amy Finkelstein of MIT and Lawrence Katz of Harvard, the new network, J-PAL North America, will build a cadre of researchers devoted to the rigorous empirical study of questions important to the formation of public policy across a variety of issues, including crime, health, and poverty. Finkelstein, Katz and their team will build a shared administrative data platform to be used by network researchers; provide seed funding to help launch promising or innovative research projects; establish a central clearinghouse to match researchers with government or other institutional partners; and provide a centralized training program for the conduct of randomized controlled trials and policy evaluations. Other funded activities include the review and synthesis of existing evidence-based literature; the production of policy briefs for policymakers and other interested stakeholders; and the development of several “evidence workshops” to communicate with policymakers, potential donors, activists, and social entrepreneurs.

    To launch a research network that promotes the rigorous empirical study of economic issues in North America

    More
  • grantee: Chrinon Limited
    amount: $644,943
    city: London, United Kingdom
    year: 2013

    To link open data about corporate legal entities to company-related filings, licenses, and other government documents

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Chris Taggart

    Funds from this grant support an ambitious project by a team at Chrinon Limited to create an open access database that compiles information about legally recognized corporate entities, pulling information from dozens of public databases around the globe in the effort to identify the ownership, legal structure, and other features of every corporation, partnership, conglomerate, subsidiary, and holding company in the world. A small pilot grant from the Sloan Foundation launched the project in 2012 and the Chrinon team has made significant progress since then. The project website, OpenCorporates.com, already contains information on more than 65 million legal entities spanning more than 31 countries, all of which can be freely accessed academics, regulators, and the public. Grants funds will support the continued operation and expansion of OpenCorporates, including the collection of information about corporate court proceedings, regulatory filings, and licenses.

    To link open data about corporate legal entities to company-related filings, licenses, and other government documents

    More
  • grantee: PBS Foundation
    amount: $1,000,000
    city: Alexandria, VA
    year: 2013

    As support for the pilot of a six-part, fact-based historical drama about how the Civil War drove innovations in medical science to air on PBS and Video on Demand along with a major educational outreach campaign

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Television
    • Investigator Beth Hoppe

    This grant provides partial support to the for the development and broadcast of a major, fact-based dramatic television series about how the Civil War led to major advances in medical science, including spurring innovations in emergency medicine, surgery, and epidemiology.  The bloodiest armed conflict in U.S. history, the Civil War claimed two lives from infection and disease for every life lost to injury or gunshot wound.  The series will depict historical figures like Dr. Jonathan Letterman, the father of battlefield medicine who developed the ambulance corps and the three stage evacuation system still in use today.  Other characters will include Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross; Dr. W.W. Keen, a celebrated neurosurgeon; and pharmaceutical entrepreneur Edward Squibb.  These figures will provide dramatic examples of how the exigencies created by the need to treat wounded and dying soldiers led to pioneering advances in trauma care, anesthesia, neurosurgery, plastic and reconstructive surgery, and prosthetics.

    As support for the pilot of a six-part, fact-based historical drama about how the Civil War drove innovations in medical science to air on PBS and Video on Demand along with a major educational outreach campaign

    More
  • grantee: University of Colorado, Boulder
    amount: $200,000
    city: Boulder, CO
    year: 2013

    To investigate the gas-particle-surface chemistry of organic chemicals in indoor environments

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Chemistry of Indoor Environments
    • Investigator Paul Ziemann

    Funds from this grant support the work of chemists Paul Ziemann and Jose-Luis Jimenez of the University of Colorado Boulder to improve our fundamental scientific understanding of the basic chemistry of aerosols in indoor environments. Using state-of-the-art instrumentation and methodology, Ziemann and Jimenez will measure the chemical composition of unperturbed and aged gases, aerosol particles, and surfaces in two to three homes and buildings; conduct laboratory studies of gases, aerosols, and surface films formed from reactions of organic chemicals commonly found in indoor air and on human occupants with O3 and NO3 radicals, water, and acids; and begin to develop theoretical models that explain these chemical reactions.Because environmental chemistry to date has focused virtually exclusively on the reactions taking place outdoors, the supported research fills a lacuna in our scientific understanding of the world.

    To investigate the gas-particle-surface chemistry of organic chemicals in indoor environments

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Davis
    amount: $245,721
    city: Davis, CA
    year: 2013

    To develop a web-based framework for the visualization of scientific data generated by standard data pipelines

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Holly Bik

    In many scientific fields, the process of cleaning and preparing data is managed by increasingly well-established software pipelines. Raw data goes in and structured, refined data comes out ready for analysis. Data pipelines are particularly valuable in fields where the data coming out of instruments are relatively standardized—genomic sequencers, for example, or astronomical telescopes. One potential benefit of data pipelines is that they lower the barriers to sophisticated data visualization, since platforms to explore data visually could be directly connected to data pipelines rather than rely on costly work by individual researchers to prepare and load data. Yet while basic visualization capabilities have been hard-wired to specific data pipelines, there is no generic framework that could interface between data pipelines and data visualization tools.This grant supports efforts by biologist Holly Bik of the University of California, Davis to develop just such a framework. Partnering with leading data visualization firm Pitch Interactive, Bik will work with an initial set of use cases to develop a framework for data visualization on top of existing genomic data pipelines, keeping an eye toward its applicability to other fields.

    To develop a web-based framework for the visualization of scientific data generated by standard data pipelines

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Berkeley
    amount: $179,267
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2013

    To produce a suite of mature R products that allow researchers to easily access disparate data sources, and develop the R scientific community through training and engagement

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Karthik Ram

    Three open source programming languages form a canon of sorts for the emerging field of data science: Python for general computation; Hadoop for managing massive unstructured data; and R for statistical analysis. Funds from this grant support efforts by Karthik Ram, a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California, Berkeley, to expand and strengthen the R community through the development of products aimed at lowering the barriers to the use of R. Ram has developed an R software module, for instance, that greatly simplifies the process of gathering data from archives and services commonly accessed by scientists, like Dryad, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, or the Biodiversity Heritage Library. Ram’s module thus obviates the need for scientists to write their own idiosyncratic code to parse data from such repositories. Grant funds will support the further development of R modules by Ram and his team, as well as outreach efforts to the scientific community to provide training and speed adoption of the new tools.

    To produce a suite of mature R products that allow researchers to easily access disparate data sources, and develop the R scientific community through training and engagement

    More
  • grantee: Center for Open Science
    amount: $500,000
    city: Charlottesville, VA
    year: 2013

    To help move the Open Science Framework (OSF) to version 1.0, and to foster the development of an open source/open science community

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Brian Nosek

    This project funds an ambitious project by Brian Nosek, a professor of psychology at the University of Virginia, to develop and expand an institutional framework for collaborative scientific work—the Open Science Framework (OSF)—that’s modeled on the open source development protocols that have been so successful in the cooperative development of software. Nosek’s project is based on the insight that scientists could develop much more efficient collaboration practices, saving themselves time and improving the quality and velocity of their work, by borrowing the basic methods and tools of open software development. These include versioning (creating an edit log that tracks changes to any files associated with a project), “tagged releases” (locking a particular, tested version of a project for broader dissemination), “forking” (creating a personal copy of a project to add one’s own edits or additions), and “pull requests” (a request to the owner of a project to merge changes in a “forked” version back into the original). Funded activities include further development of the OSF, the construction of an applications programming interface that would allow the OSF to seamlessly interoperate with other tools and platforms, and collaborations with other developers of scientific cyberinfrastructure.

    To help move the Open Science Framework (OSF) to version 1.0, and to foster the development of an open source/open science community

    More
  • grantee: Arius Association
    amount: $150,000
    city: Baden, Switzerland
    year: 2013

    To continue efforts to help initiate working groups on regional repositories for spent nuclear fuel and radioactive wastes in Arab regions and South East Asia

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Initiative Nuclear Nonproliferation
    • Investigator Charles McCombie

    Since 2009, with support from the Sloan and Hewlett Foundation’s, the Arius Association has been working to promote regional nuclear waste repositories outside of Europe. If such repositories could be brought into existence, they would result in the centralized disposal of dangerous nuclear wastes in a manner that would be more cost-effective, safe, and secure (from both a nonproliferation and dirty bomb perspective) than if each country with a small nuclear power program had responsibility for disposing of its own high-level nuclear waste. Funds from this grant provide support for Arius’ continued work on this issue, including an expansion of the scope of their efforts to include discussion of regional repositories for radioactive wastes from universities, hospitals, and industry. Supported activities over the next two years include a series of workshops in Arab regions and in Asia; the production of a draft constitution and work program for a regional nuclear repository organization; development of an IAEA report on multinational nuclear waste repositories; and a series of high-level papers aimed at specialists and policymakers.

    To continue efforts to help initiate working groups on regional repositories for spent nuclear fuel and radioactive wastes in Arab regions and South East Asia

    More
  • grantee: George Mason University
    amount: $89,951
    city: Fairfax, VA
    year: 2013

    To identify the primary causes of age-related differences in training outcomes and develop and examine interventions to ameliorate age-related performance discrepancies

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Eden King

    To identify the primary causes of age-related differences in training outcomes and develop and examine interventions to ameliorate age-related performance discrepancies

    More
  • grantee: Harvard University
    amount: $19,200
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2013

    To study the effects of academic hiring, promotion, diversity, and work-life policies on the professional advancement of STEM faculty from underrepresented groups, and overall faculty diversity

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Frank Dobbin

    To study the effects of academic hiring, promotion, diversity, and work-life policies on the professional advancement of STEM faculty from underrepresented groups, and overall faculty diversity

    More
  • grantee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    amount: $45,000
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2013

    To hold a workshop that informs and articulates a roadmap for research on privacy-preserving techniques for processing large sets of data

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Samuel Madden

    To hold a workshop that informs and articulates a roadmap for research on privacy-preserving techniques for processing large sets of data

    More
  • grantee: New York Public Library
    amount: $60,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2013

    To support a summer teachers fellowship program at the New York Public Library to define best practices for how NYPL resources and other digital collections could be used and to share that information with the DPLA for the benefit of broader audiences

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Universal Access to Knowledge
    • Investigator Maggie Jacobs

    To support a summer teachers fellowship program at the New York Public Library to define best practices for how NYPL resources and other digital collections could be used and to share that information with the DPLA for the benefit of broader audiences

    More
  • grantee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    amount: $50,000
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2013

    To support a two-day workshop on the changing face of public science engagement and potential research in this area

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program New Media
    • Investigator David Kaiser

    To support a two-day workshop on the changing face of public science engagement and potential research in this area

    More
  • grantee: ARTstor, Inc.
    amount: $17,451
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2013

    To support a planning meeting on potential uses of ARTstor in image-based natural sciences

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator James Shulman

    To support a planning meeting on potential uses of ARTstor in image-based natural sciences

    More
  • grantee: Boston Symphony Orchestra
    amount: $122,280
    city: Boston, MA
    year: 2013

    To support the development of an open source web interface that links historical performance data with digitized programs and other archival material

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Investigator Bridget Carr

    To support the development of an open source web interface that links historical performance data with digitized programs and other archival material

    More
  • grantee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    amount: $20,000
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2013

    To explore new methods for funding scientific research

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Economic Analysis of Science and Technology (EAST)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Andrew Lo

    To explore new methods for funding scientific research

    More
  • grantee: National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, Inc.
    amount: $3,835,000
    city: White Plains, NY
    year: 2013

    To cover expected obligations to be incurred by NACME to provide phase 1 transitional support for the Sloan MPHD program as campus programs compete for new multi-year grants for University Centers of Exemplary Mentoring or Programs of Exemplary Mentoring

    • Program Higher Education
    • Initiative Minority Ph.D.
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Aileen Walter

    To cover expected obligations to be incurred by NACME to provide phase 1 transitional support for the Sloan MPHD program as campus programs compete for new multi-year grants for University Centers of Exemplary Mentoring or Programs of Exemplary Mentoring

    More
  • grantee: Yale University
    amount: $49,336
    city: New Haven, CT
    year: 2013

    To examine how building moisture influences fungal and bacterial ecology in house dust

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Jordan Peccia

    To examine how building moisture influences fungal and bacterial ecology in house dust

    More
  • grantee: National Academy of Sciences
    amount: $17,886
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2013

    To provide partial support for a scoping meeting to examine fundamental shifts in life science

    • Program Science
    • Investigator Katherine Bowman

    To provide partial support for a scoping meeting to examine fundamental shifts in life science

    More
  • grantee: Northwestern University
    amount: $77,947
    city: Evanston, IL
    year: 2013

    To support a landscape survey and workshop on data sharing from research using technological tools to study human behavior in digital environments

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Eszter Hargittai

    To support a landscape survey and workshop on data sharing from research using technological tools to study human behavior in digital environments

    More
  • grantee: Finance Flows, Inc
    amount: $20,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2013

    To establish a non-profit designed to launch and administer a 2 year fellowship work program re-employing older (50+) senior managers in multiple New York City metro area industries

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Joan Biermann

    To establish a non-profit designed to launch and administer a 2 year fellowship work program re-employing older (50+) senior managers in multiple New York City metro area industries

    More
  • grantee: Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities
    amount: $74,865
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2013

    To examine the need and value of establishing a robust network and communication among university-based STEM Education Centers to contribute to transforming undergraduate science, technology, engineering and mathematics education

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Noah Finkelstein

    To examine the need and value of establishing a robust network and communication among university-based STEM Education Centers to contribute to transforming undergraduate science, technology, engineering and mathematics education

    More
  • grantee: TIAA-CREF Institute
    amount: $104,650
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2013

    To convene a select group of policymakers, think tanks, academic researchers, & press to consider two approaches, suggested by the National Academy of Sciences study, that address the economic challenges of an aging population-working longer & saving more

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Stephanie Bell-Rose

    To convene a select group of policymakers, think tanks, academic researchers, & press to consider two approaches, suggested by the National Academy of Sciences study, that address the economic challenges of an aging population-working longer & saving more

    More
  • grantee: Smithsonian Institution
    amount: $110,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2013

    To combine developing and existing Smithsonian resources in novel ways to investigate, document, and demonstrate a prototypical working model for managing the digital information lifecycle

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Robert Corrigan

    To combine developing and existing Smithsonian resources in novel ways to investigate, document, and demonstrate a prototypical working model for managing the digital information lifecycle

    More
  • grantee: Manhattan Theatre Club
    amount: $125,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2013

    For production support for Manhattan Theatre Club’s science-comedy The Explorers Club

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Theater
    • Investigator Annie MacRae

    For production support for Manhattan Theatre Club’s science-comedy The Explorers Club

    More
  • grantee: International Energy Program Evaluation Conference
    amount: $10,000
    city: Chatham, MA
    year: 2013

    To accelerate and advance the profession on energy evaluation through instilling an interest in and connections to professional evaluation for any program

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Pierre Landry

    To accelerate and advance the profession on energy evaluation through instilling an interest in and connections to professional evaluation for any program

    More
  • grantee: Association of American Colleges and Universities
    amount: $31,606
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2013

    To host a workshop and distribute a sourcebook that will assist foundation leaders and practitioners to promote alignment between STEM classroom and laboratory practice and what we know about how undergraduates learn

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Linda Slakey

    To host a workshop and distribute a sourcebook that will assist foundation leaders and practitioners to promote alignment between STEM classroom and laboratory practice and what we know about how undergraduates learn

    More
  • grantee: Harvard Medical School
    amount: $125,000
    city: Boston, MA
    year: 2013

    To test whether the pH of surfaces in built environments influences the composition of microbial communities that reside there

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Roberto Kolter

    To test whether the pH of surfaces in built environments influences the composition of microbial communities that reside there

    More
  • grantee: University of Pittsburgh
    amount: $33,000
    city: Pittsburgh, PA
    year: 2013

    To determine the changes in the microbial ecology of a hospital hot water system caused by the introduction of a secondary disinfectant

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Kyle Bibby

    To determine the changes in the microbial ecology of a hospital hot water system caused by the introduction of a secondary disinfectant

    More
  • grantee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    amount: $20,000
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2013

    To share best practices in evaluating teaching and learning in promotion and tenure at some of the nation’s top research universities.

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Daniel Hastings

    To share best practices in evaluating teaching and learning in promotion and tenure at some of the nation’s top research universities.

    More
  • grantee: Carnegie Institution of Washington
    amount: $1,250,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2013

    To advance understanding of reservoirs and fluxes of Earth’s deep carbon and thus contribute to meeting the decadal goals of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Erik Hauri

    This grant provides two years of continued support for the Reservoirs and Fluxes Directorate of the Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO).  Led from the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism of the Carnegie Institution of Washington and the Ecole Nationale Supйrieure de Gйologie in Nancy, France, the Directorate is the division of the DCO dedicated to transforming our understanding of the distribution, abundance, and movement of Earth’s subsurface carbon.  The group aims for important discoveries in five areas:  degassing deep carbon through volcanic processes; degassing deep carbon through tectonic and other diffuse processes; origin, age, and depth of diamonds and mineral inclusions found within them; fluid dynamics of carbon transport in volcanoes and global circulation of carbon from Earth’s surface to its core; and chemical forms, mineral hosts, and reactions of carbon moving between reservoirs. Collaborating with national volcano observatories, group members will also begin to establish the first global network for direct measurement of volcanic carbon dioxide flux and produce a new database on eruptions and volcanic gases.  Expected outcomes from this grant include new instruments, databases, models, insights, and several doctoral and postdoctoral researchers trained in deep carbon research.  

    To advance understanding of reservoirs and fluxes of Earth’s deep carbon and thus contribute to meeting the decadal goals of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    More
  • grantee: American Museum of the Moving Image
    amount: $358,170
    city: Astoria, NY
    year: 2013

    To maintain and expand a go-to site for the Sloan Film program that showcases Sloan-winning films and filmmakers, features original articles and status updates, and serves as a science and film web hub

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Carl Goodman

    The Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI) hosts the Sloan Science and Film website, the most comprehensive single resource documenting outputs from Sloan’s Film program, including a growing library of 439 Sloan film projects; 282 screenplays; and 76 Sloan-winning films presented by the Hamptons, Sundance, and Tribeca Film Festivals. In addition to the video content and award history the site catalogues, the website features articles about Sloan films; status updates about members of the Sloan film community; and general interest articles, news items, and features about science as depicted in film and television in the broader culture. This grant provides three years of continued support to MoMI for hosting and curation of the Sloan Science and Film website. Additional funds support a series of science and film events hosted by MoMI during the World Science Festival and the Imagine Science Festival.

    To maintain and expand a go-to site for the Sloan Film program that showcases Sloan-winning films and filmmakers, features original articles and status updates, and serves as a science and film web hub

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Berkeley
    amount: $384,565
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2013

    For a third year of funding to continue to develop solutions to copyright law obstacles faced by digital library initiatives such as the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA)

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Universal Access to Knowledge
    • Investigator Pamela Samuelson

    Funds from this grant provide one year of continued support to efforts by a team led by Pamela Samuelson at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law to examine the legal obstacles posed by copyright law to digital library initiatives and the digital storage and dissemination of in-copyright works. The Berkeley team will examine a diverse range of issues, including orphan works, library and archive copyright exceptions, private ordering solutions, collective licensing for certain copyrighted works, digital lending of in-copyright works, and metadata ownership and use issues. Samuelson’s team will also provide advice and counsel to the Digital Public Library of America on legal issues related its mission and will serve as a locus for informed legal discussion of copyright issues in the digital age.

    For a third year of funding to continue to develop solutions to copyright law obstacles faced by digital library initiatives such as the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA)

    More
  • grantee: Chemical Heritage Foundation
    amount: $410,740
    city: Philadelphia, PA
    year: 2013

    To create a chemistry set iPad app for free download that recreates the experience of working with a real chemistry set

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program New Media
    • Investigator Shelley Geehr

    This grant funds an ambitious new project by the Chemical Heritage Foundation to build a free mobile app for iPad that recreates the excitement and educational potential of working with a chemistry set. Structured like a game, the app will instruct users in the principles of chemistry and guide them through a series of increasingly complicated virtual experiments that explore the properties of matter, thermodynamics, gases, and chemical energy. The app will be focused on 12 to 15 year olds and, when completed, will be available to download for free. The project is an experiment in how to leverage new developments in information technology and media to advance the public understanding of science.

    To create a chemistry set iPad app for free download that recreates the experience of working with a real chemistry set

    More
  • grantee: Science Friday Initiative, Inc.
    amount: $684,117
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2013

    To support Science Friday, focusing on science and the arts, including radio broadcasts, digital science videos, blog posts, and associated media

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Radio
    • Investigator Ira Flatow

    Funds from this grant provide three years of continued operational and programming support to Science Friday, the only regular weekly slot on public radio—two hours long—devoted to all things science. Reaching more than two million people each week via his radio show, podcasts, blogs, online videos, mobile apps, and social media, award-winning host Ira Flatow targets the fertile intersection between science and the arts and has made the show a magnet for filmmakers, playwrights, authors, musicians, sculptors, painters, and digital artists who engage with science. In addition to providing operational support, funds support several new initiatives, including collaborative (audience) art projects, a Science Friday book club, a film viewing and discussion series, an artist of the month spotlight, and an annual remote broadcast about science and the arts produced in conjunction with the Foundation-supported Science and Entertainment Exchange.

    To support Science Friday, focusing on science and the arts, including radio broadcasts, digital science videos, blog posts, and associated media

    More
  • grantee: The University of Chicago
    amount: $100,119
    city: Chicago, IL
    year: 2013

    To hold a conference on analyzing the costs and benefits of financial regulation

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Economic Implications of the Great Recession (EIGR)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Eric Posner

    Funds from this grant support a conference organized by Glen Weyl and Eric Posner of the University of Chicago on “Benefit-Cost Analysis for Financial Regulation.” At the conference, economists, regulators, and lawyers will present and debate frameworks for evaluating government interventions in financial markets with the specific goal of catalyzing, collecting, and synthesizing the normative and quantitative research on the social welfare implications of rulemaking associated with the Dodd-Frank Act. Conference participants will represent a broad spectrum of practical and conceptual approaches to the issues at hand. Findings are scheduled to appear in a special issue of the Journal of Legal Studies. The hope is that such efforts can point the way toward more efficient, effective, and rational regimes for regulating the financial sector.

    To hold a conference on analyzing the costs and benefits of financial regulation

    More
  • grantee: Yale University
    amount: $222,525
    city: New Haven, CT
    year: 2013

    To plan a professional training program on the theory and global practice of macroprudential regulation

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Economic Implications of the Great Recession (EIGR)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Andrew Metrick

    This grant to Yale University supports the planning and development of a new “Program on Financial Stability” aimed at training a new generation of experts on financial regulation. Led by Yale Finance and Management professor Andrew Metrick, the program will aim to translate and synthesize research on macroprudential regulation that speaks to practitioners; compile case studies containing raw data and documentation that describe the interaction between regulation and firm behavior; train early-career scholar-regulators employed by major national and international agencies; and help build an international community of scholars, regulators, and financial experts. If successful, the program promises to provide an invaluable training resource that responds to the need to develop the human, social, and intellectual capital that financial regulators need to fend off future financial crises.

    To plan a professional training program on the theory and global practice of macroprudential regulation

    More
  • grantee: Yale University
    amount: $539,107
    city: New Haven, CT
    year: 2013

    To test the impact of interventions on both explicit (consciously held) and implicit (automatic or unintended) gender biases; ultimately, to increase the participation of women in science by reducing bias

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator John Dovidio

    The grant provides support for a project headed by Yale biologist Jo Handelsman to find targeted interventions that to increase equitable decision-making and overcome the effects of explicit and implicit gender bias in the many review processes that are an essential part of academic science. Leading a multidisciplinary team, Handelsman will conduct two experiments comparing interventions designed to mitigate explicit bias, implicit bias, or both (hybrid). Depending on which intervention is found to be most effective, the team will then develop, evaluate, and distribute a training guide, and publish their results. Prospective audiences for the training guide include faculty, staff, and students in campus diversity training settings; graduate students in “responsible conduct of research” courses; faculty search committees; and senior academic administrators responsible for university personnel practices.

    To test the impact of interventions on both explicit (consciously held) and implicit (automatic or unintended) gender biases; ultimately, to increase the participation of women in science by reducing bias

    More
  • grantee: The New School for Social Research
    amount: $710,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2013

    To identify, profile, and help inform choices among exemplary mathematics and science programs in New York City schools

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Andrew White

    InsideSchools.org is a comprehensive source of information on New York City schools visited by over 140,000 students, parents, educators, and members of the public each month. Its user-friendly website offers detailed profiles of New York’s 1,700 schools, including in-class videos, student achievement statistics, and insights gained from on-site visits. News and advice columns also cover everything from entrance tests to new administrative appointments. To ensure access by diverse demographic groups, the entire site can be immediately translated into 50 different languages. The Sloan Foundation has supported InsideSchools since its inception in 2002.Funds from this grant support efforts by InsideSchools to expand its offerings by providing information about the different pedagogical and curricular offerings at each school, such as Everyday Math, TERC, Saxon, Singapore, or Montessori. In a separate effort to improve data quality, InsideSchools will also begin consulting with a statistician to help separate school effects from small sample biases or other confounding variables.

    To identify, profile, and help inform choices among exemplary mathematics and science programs in New York City schools

    More
  • grantee: Council for Economic Education
    amount: $150,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2013

    To promote economics education in New York area schools by recognizing innovative teachers and promoting their methods

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Christopher Caltabiano

    This grant provides two years of support for a new awards program by the Council for Economic Education (CEE) that honors exceptional, innovative K-12 teaching of economics and finance in the New York Metropolitan Area. These “Economic Educator of the Year Awards” will be awarded by a distinguished independent committee to three K-12 teachers based on evidence of their creativity, general effectiveness, and success at motivating underserved students.Winners will be honored at the CEE annual dinner, where a video will also be shown that highlights their achievements and showcases their teaching methods. Each winner receives a $5,000 prize and their schools will receive $2,500 to strengthen its economic education offerings.

    To promote economics education in New York area schools by recognizing innovative teachers and promoting their methods

    More
  • grantee: American Economic Association
    amount: $124,803
    city: Nashville, TN
    year: 2013

    To launch a study registry for randomized controlled trials in economics

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Esther Duflo

    The published research literature on any given topic likely represents a highly unrepresentative sample of all that is known. That is because authors and editors are rarely interested in publishing ambiguous or disconfirming results concerning a given hypothesis. Such “publication bias” creates vexing problems when performing formal meta-analyses, or whenever anyone tries to interpret the results of a body of empirical work.Suppose, however, that investigators could agree to collect and post public commitments to their research plans, including their hypotheses and methodologies, in advance of collecting all their data. Not only could simple transparency like this go a long way toward alleviating publication bias, it could also deter other ways researchers have of cherry picking and distorting results.This grant funds a project by the American Economic Association (AEA) to bring just such a thing about. Led by MIT economist Esther Duflo, the AEA will set up a national registry for randomized controlled trials in economics. By linking study designs to related datasets and by making study details more easily searchable, the proposed registry would advance the Foundation’s efforts to promote communication, transparency, and best practices among scholarly researchers.

    To launch a study registry for randomized controlled trials in economics

    More
  • grantee: WGBH Educational Foundation
    amount: $2,500,000
    city: Boston, MA
    year: 2013

    To research and produce four primetime films on PBS’s American Experience on the role of science, technology, and engineering in history with an engineering iPhone app, interactive website, and ancillary outreach activities

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Television
    • Investigator Mark Samels

    This grant supports the production, broadcast, and promotion of four primetime science-themed documentaries by the popular PBS series, American Experience. Supported documentaries include Edison, about the life and enormous scientific contributions of the famed American inventor; Penn Station, about the ambitious engineering marvel that brought the Pennsylvania Railroad’s tunnels and trains under the Hudson River and into Manhattan; Tuberculosis, about the rise and fall of the most lethal disease in American history; and The Great Fire, about the 1910 wildfire that burned three million acres across Washington, Idaho, and Montana and subsequently gave rise to the conservation movement, the establishment of the U.S. Forest Service, and the battle between Roosevelt and the railroad barons to establish a public, scientifically managed system of national forests. Additional funds from this grant support the development of an interactive mobile app, the Engineering Map of America, that will offer entertaining and educational walking tours of select engineering sites across the country.

    To research and produce four primetime films on PBS’s American Experience on the role of science, technology, and engineering in history with an engineering iPhone app, interactive website, and ancillary outreach activities

    More
  • grantee: Resources for the Future, Inc.
    amount: $308,686
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2013

    To conduct ex-post evaluations of government regulations concerning health and environment in the United States

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Richard Morgenstern

    This grant supports a project led by Richard Morgenstern of the nonpartisan think tank Resources for the Future (RFF) to study the effects of specific regulations governing food safety, industrial water pollution, air toxics, and municipal water pollution. Morgenstern will also commission up to six additional regulatory assessments by outside academics whose research techniques meet high scientific criteria. The studies will focus not only on the evaluation of the specific regulations themselves, but on how new datasets and measurement capabilities can improve regulatory design and support more effective regulatory assessment. Results will be disseminated through a formal report and workshop targeted at relevant stakeholders in the government, academic, and NGO communities, and through a series of online outreach activities.

    To conduct ex-post evaluations of government regulations concerning health and environment in the United States

    More
  • grantee: Northeastern University
    amount: $575,000
    city: Boston, MA
    year: 2013

    To support the rapid and sustained recovery of the metro New York City area and bolster resilience after Superstorm Sandy

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Stephen Flynn

    Funds from this grant support efforts by a team led by Stephen Flynn, Professor of Political Science at Northeastern University to hold a series of four workshops to help guide the rapid and sustained recovery of the metro New York City region in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.  The four workshops will bring together emergency managers, urban planners, and academic experts from coastal cities and the New York region to facilitate the exchange of findings and recommendations on how best to incorporate resilience into the current regional restoration efforts and future planning.  The first three workshops will focus on three sectors where Sandy caused considerable disruption in the metro New York area—transportation, energy, and health services.  Each workshop will aim to identify recommendations for what should be in place to mitigate future risk, what can be done to speed up recovery of these sectors, and to identify crosscutting issues amongst them.  The fourth workshop will take place at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and will involve representatives from the insurance, reinsurance, and banking industries.  The goal of this workshop will be to identify meaningful incentives that can be devised for advancing measures that can bolster resilience.  In addition to the workshops, Flynn and his team will engage in a number of outreach activities to publicize their findings, including the publication of several reports, meetings with relevant stakeholders, and a series of high profile op-eds and media appearances.

    To support the rapid and sustained recovery of the metro New York City area and bolster resilience after Superstorm Sandy

    More
  • grantee: Ensemble Studio Theatre, Inc.
    amount: $1,791,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2013

    To commission, develop, produce, and disseminate new science plays in New York and across the country

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Theater
    • Investigator William Carden

    Funds from this grant provide three years of continued support to New York City’s Ensemble Studio Theatre (EST) for the creation and development of new American plays that explore scientific or technological themes or feature scientists, engineers, or mathematicians as major characters. EST will commission between ten and twenty new plays per year from emerging and established playwrights, stage a production of a science-themed play annually, and host the First Light Festival, an annual month-long celebration of science-themed plays that includes panels, workshops, and staged readings of plays in development.

    To commission, develop, produce, and disseminate new science plays in New York and across the country

    More
  • grantee: Council on Library and Information Resources
    amount: $1,299,616
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2013

    To support two cohorts of data curation postdoctoral fellows, in order to develop emerging leaders in the field and encourage permanent staffing solutions within academic libraries

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Charles Henry

    This grant provides support for the expansion of a successful postdoctoral fellowship program run by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR). The program aims to help academic libraries provide a new set of services that support data- and computation-intensive research through funding postdoctoral fellows devoted to data management and curation in the natural and social sciences. Grant funds will provide salary support to two cohorts of fellows (ten in 2013 and 12 in 2014) as well as various support and training activities such as professional training, travel, and networking with other data curation professionals.

    To support two cohorts of data curation postdoctoral fellows, in order to develop emerging leaders in the field and encourage permanent staffing solutions within academic libraries

    More
  • grantee: Council on Foundations, Inc.
    amount: $45,000
    city: Arlington, VA
    year: 2013

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Vikki Spruill

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    More
  • grantee: American Academy of Arts and Sciences
    amount: $50,000
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2013

    To advance thinking about how the nation can improve policy making in areas related to science and technology. It will draw on the best thinking of a distinguished committee to produce recommendations to sustain interest and implement key...

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Neal Lane

    To advance thinking about how the nation can improve policy making in areas related to science and technology. It will draw on the best thinking of a distinguished committee to produce recommendations to sustain interest and implement key...

    More
  • grantee: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
    amount: $70,000
    city: Blacksburg, VA
    year: 2013

    To determine whether participation in targeted programming can encourage development of innovative thinking skills and if in doing so, facilitate retention to degree among engineering undergraduates

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Bevlee Watford

    To determine whether participation in targeted programming can encourage development of innovative thinking skills and if in doing so, facilitate retention to degree among engineering undergraduates

    More
  • grantee: Columbia University
    amount: $20,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2013

    To provide support for editing an educational video about financial innovation, markets, and regulation so that it meets WNET/PBS guidelines for broadcasting

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Bruce Kogut

    To provide support for editing an educational video about financial innovation, markets, and regulation so that it meets WNET/PBS guidelines for broadcasting

    More
  • grantee: Technology Affinity Group
    amount: $5,000
    city: Wayne, PA
    year: 2013

    For 2013 Membership Dues

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Lisa Pool

    For 2013 Membership Dues

    More
  • grantee: Dartmouth College
    amount: $13,075
    city: Hanover, NH
    year: 2013

    To incorporate and improve MathOverflow, an open question-and-answer exchange site for mathematicians

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Francois Dorais

    To incorporate and improve MathOverflow, an open question-and-answer exchange site for mathematicians

    More
  • grantee: Robert Kanigel
    amount: $50,000
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2013

    To research and write a biography of Jane Jacobs

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Robert Kanigel

    To research and write a biography of Jane Jacobs

    More
  • grantee: Catherine Price LLC
    amount: $50,675
    city: Philadelphia, PA
    year: 2013

    For support for travel and research on a book about the science and history of vitamins

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Catherine Price

    For support for travel and research on a book about the science and history of vitamins

    More
  • grantee: Tribeca Film Institute
    amount: $100,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2013

    For support for research and writing of a treatment and first draft of a mini-series about Hedy Lamarr based on Richard Rhodes’s book

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Television
    • Investigator Natalie Mooallem

    For support for research and writing of a treatment and first draft of a mini-series about Hedy Lamarr based on Richard Rhodes’s book

    More
  • grantee: Keystone Symposia on Molecular and Cellular Biology
    amount: $78,794
    city: Silverthorne, CO
    year: 2013

    To enhance the Fellows’ success rates for grant applications, provide Fellows with problem-solving techniques that can be used to address diversity challenges, and teach Fellows the behaviors and strategies which contribute to success

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Laina King

    To enhance the Fellows’ success rates for grant applications, provide Fellows with problem-solving techniques that can be used to address diversity challenges, and teach Fellows the behaviors and strategies which contribute to success

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Berkeley
    amount: $31,250
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2013

    To bring together world-renowned energy economists to discuss and explore new research ideas on energy markets

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Lucas Davis

    To bring together world-renowned energy economists to discuss and explore new research ideas on energy markets

    More
  • grantee: American Society for Engineering Education
    amount: $5,434
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2013

    To capture for later webcasting a panel discussion on diversifying engineering faculty and administrators (department chairs/heads, associate deans, and deans) to be held at the April 2013 Engineering Deans Institute in New York City

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Ashok Agrawal

    To capture for later webcasting a panel discussion on diversifying engineering faculty and administrators (department chairs/heads, associate deans, and deans) to be held at the April 2013 Engineering Deans Institute in New York City

    More
  • grantee: American Association for the Advancement of Science
    amount: $124,604
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2013

    To pilot a public policy fellowship program for placing behavioral and social scientists in the federal government

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Behavioral Economics and Household Finance (BEHF)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Edward Derrick

    To pilot a public policy fellowship program for placing behavioral and social scientists in the federal government

    More
  • grantee: ReServe Elder Service, Inc.
    amount: $45,000
    city: Brooklyn, NY
    year: 2013

    To develop a business plan for ReCap, a new workforce development strategy for older workers who face barriers to employment due to their age, skill level and workplace requirements

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Mary Bleiberg

    To develop a business plan for ReCap, a new workforce development strategy for older workers who face barriers to employment due to their age, skill level and workplace requirements

    More
  • grantee: Brandeis University
    amount: $25,000
    city: Waltham, MA
    year: 2013

    To provide partial support for the 2013 Sloan-Swartz Annual Meeting on Computational Neuroscience

    • Program Science
    • Investigator Eve Marder

    To provide partial support for the 2013 Sloan-Swartz Annual Meeting on Computational Neuroscience

    More
  • grantee: American Association for the Advancement of Science
    amount: $57,595
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2013

    To support a one?-day symposium on Microbiology of the Built Environment

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Mark Milutinovich

    To support a one?-day symposium on Microbiology of the Built Environment

    More
  • grantee: Philanthropy New York
    amount: $28,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2012

    To support work in 2013 on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Ronna Brown

    To support work in 2013 on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    More
  • grantee: Loughborough University (UK)
    amount: $104,212
    city: Loughborough, United Kingdom
    year: 2012

    To study how a global system of legal entity identifiers can help financial regulators monitor counterparty risks, conduct orderly resolutions, and enhance financial stability

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Alistair Milne

    To study how a global system of legal entity identifiers can help financial regulators monitor counterparty risks, conduct orderly resolutions, and enhance financial stability

    More
  • grantee: Manhattan Theatre Club
    amount: $50,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2012

    For a final installment of production support for "The Other Place," a science play being produced at Manhattan Theatre Club’s Broadway space

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Theater
    • Investigator Annie MacRae

    For a final installment of production support for "The Other Place," a science play being produced at Manhattan Theatre Club’s Broadway space

    More
  • grantee: Polytechnic Institute of New York University
    amount: $20,000
    city: Brooklyn, NY
    year: 2012

    To launch and document an international seminar series on finance engineering and regulation

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Economic Implications of the Great Recession (EIGR)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Charles Tapiero

    To launch and document an international seminar series on finance engineering and regulation

    More
  • grantee: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
    amount: $20,000
    city: Cold Spring Harbor, NY
    year: 2012

    To run a regional conference that helps new research and teaching faculty obtain federal funding for their scientific projects

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Walter Goldschmidts

    To run a regional conference that helps new research and teaching faculty obtain federal funding for their scientific projects

    More
  • grantee: Carnegie Mellon University
    amount: $576,039
    city: Pittsburgh, PA
    year: 2012

    To study the role of transparent development environments in the production of scientific software

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator James Herbsleb

    Github is a new online service that helps programmers track and share their work. Based on "Git," a protocol for version tracking and the coordination of distributed contributions to software development, Github has become an extremely popular home for software projects both large and small, and has seen increasing use by scientists who develop software as part of their research. One notable feature of Github is its business model. There's no charge to set up an account and start posting, but there's a fee to keep your work private. This grant funds a research project by Jim Herbsleb of Carnegie Mellon's Institute for Software Research to evaluate how transparent "opt-out" development environments like Github affect the development of scientific software. Conducting case studies and analyzing archival data from Github, Herbsleb will investigate several key theses about the relationship between transparency and scientific software development, including how software developers use transparency to accomplish technical tasks, the role transparency plays in relationships between developers and the scientific community, and the difficulties transparent development environments pose for effective software development. Herbsleb's research has the potential to form the basis for policy recommendations on how transparency can be used most effectively to foster the development of scientific research.

    To study the role of transparent development environments in the production of scientific software

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Berkeley
    amount: $1,156,626
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2012

    To support the development of interactive exploration, collaboration, and publication capabilities within the IPython Notebook software platform

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Fernando Perez

    Many researchers fail to appropriately capture, log, and version their work as it moves through the research process from data collection through multiple stages of cleaning and preparation to analysis. In part, this failure is due to the difficulty of logging changes in data as it moves from one software platform or set of scripts to another, each of which might be ideal for a particular part of the research process, but none of which are tied together by a common platform that can track the provenance of data as it moves from one system to the next. For decades, experimental scientists captured their research activities in lab notebooks. What is needed is a revitalization of that old idea: a lab notebook for the modern era of computational science. This two-year grant funds the development of just such an electronic lab notebook environment, called the IPython Notebook. Built on top of Python, R, and other widely used software languages in the data science community, the IPython Notebook is an early prototype computational platform that allows researchers to run a wide variety of high-powered data cleaning, modeling, and analysis algorithms inside a common computational environment. Grant funds will help IPython developers make the leap from early adoption to mainstream usage, focusing particularly on the development and scaling of features in three key areas: interactive exploration of data, collaborative authoring, and dissemination/sharing. Additional grant funds cover the salary of a full-time outreach coordinator to give presentations and tutorials at universities and professional society meetings, and funds to support the development of a set of live "notebooks" for use in introductory statistics classes, to better introduce students to the platform.

    To support the development of interactive exploration, collaboration, and publication capabilities within the IPython Notebook software platform

    More
  • grantee: Tribeca Film Institute
    amount: $216,689
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2012

    To award the annual Sloan Student Grand Jury Prize to the best-of-the-best student film from all film school partners and to develop each winning screenplay toward production

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Natalie Mooallem

    Instituted two years ago to reward the most promising student screenwriters, the Sloan Student Grand Jury Prize is awarded annually to the single best student screenplay from among the Foundation's six film school partners: American Film Institute, Columbia University, Carnegie Mellon University, New York University, UCLA, and USC. Winning scripts demonstrate how scientific content can become the basis for an entertaining and marketable film, and previous winners-Robert Cohen's Bystander and Grainger David's Pennystock-have gone on to garner significant media and industry attention. Selected by an independent panel of scientists, actors, and industry insiders, winners of the award receive a $30,000 production grant to help turn the script into a completed film; support from a noted industry mentor to guide the project; a committed science advisor; and marketing (meetings, readings, events), distribution, and networking support to maximize the screenplay's chances of production and distribution. This grant provides continued support for the Sloan Student Grand Jury Prize for two years.

    To award the annual Sloan Student Grand Jury Prize to the best-of-the-best student film from all film school partners and to develop each winning screenplay toward production

    More
  • grantee: Digital Public Library of America, Inc.
    amount: $1,200,000
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2012

    To launch Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) as an independent, national organization and to support its executive director and two key staff to begin operations and scale up for the first two years

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Universal Access to Knowledge
    • Investigator Daniel Cohen

    This grant provides two years of continued support for the development, launch, and operation of the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA). Scheduled to launch in April 2013, the DPLA aims to create an open, distributed network of comprehensive online resources that will make the nation's scientific and cultural heritage universally accessible to the public. Funds from this grant support the continued development of the DPLA platform architecture and interface, community-building efforts and technical support to expand and strengthen the growing network of content providers, and administrative funds for the hiring of an executive director and two full time staff members.

    To launch Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) as an independent, national organization and to support its executive director and two key staff to begin operations and scale up for the first two years

    More
  • grantee: American University
    amount: $189,802
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2012

    To support the development of best practices for orphan works that will empower libraries, archives, and other organizations in their digitization efforts

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Universal Access to Knowledge
    • Investigator Peter Jaszi

    Orphan works are those works whose copyright owners are either unknown or un-locatable after a diligent search. They comprise a significant percentage of all copyright works. (For example, about 50 percent of Haathi Trust's 10 million volumes are estimated to be orphan works.) Because libraries and archives are wary of running afoul of copyright restrictions on orphan works, they often avoid digitizing them or making them available online, thus vastly limiting public access to millions of important books and documents. This grant funds a project by American University law professor Peter Jaszi to develop best practice guidelines for the legal digitization and distribution of orphan works. Funds will support an initial paper explaining the legal obstacles to the dissemination of orphan works, 10 focus group sessions to discuss orphan work issues and policies with relevant stakeholders around the country, a paper outlying best practices, and dissemination activities to publicize those practices to libraries, universities, museums, and other stakeholders.

    To support the development of best practices for orphan works that will empower libraries, archives, and other organizations in their digitization efforts

    More
  • grantee: National Academy of Sciences
    amount: $195,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2012

    To provide partial support for the Forum on Microbial Threats

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Eileen Choffnes

    The Forum on Microbial Threats (Forum) was created in 1996 to address emerging, re-emerging, and novel infectious diseases and has become one of the leading places to address issues in microbial ecology and microbiology. The Forum gathers experts, develops agendas, conducts three meetings and two symposia per year, and publishes reports. Funds from this grant provide partial support to the Forum over a three-year period. Among the planned topics for future workshops and symposia is "The Movement of Microorganisms and the Microbial Ecology of the Built Environment", a workshop of interest to the Foundation's Microbiology of the Built Environment Program and one that will help set the stage for future efforts towards a full National Academies' study and report on the microbiology of built environments.

    To provide partial support for the Forum on Microbial Threats

    More
  • grantee: New York University
    amount: $487,109
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2012

    To improve measurement and modeling of the evolving labor market behaviors, expectations, and preferences of middle and upper-middle income households headed by older Americans

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Andrew Caplin

    The most popularly used survey of older Americans-the National Institute on Aging's (NIA) Health and Retirement Study (HRS)-has a limited number of questions that address with any specificity the ways that Americans work into their 60s and 70s as they transition from full-time employment to full-time retirement. What is needed is an opportunity to devise and test questions that will better capture the aspirations, expectations, and work patterns of aging Americans so as to improve the measurement and modeling of older Americans' evolving labor market behaviors. This grant to fund the work of New York University economist Andrew Caplin provides such an opportunity. Caplin has formed a partnership with NIA and Vanguard, one of the world's largest investment management companies, to createe a panel of older Americans, entitled, the MINYVan panel. This MINYVan panel will allow Caplin and colleagues to experiment with questions that will better measure labor market preferences and opportunities of an aging population. They will also pose questions concerning expectations of future work and pay and questions concerning hypothetical behavior in various possible future contingencies. For example, they will investigate whether or not an individual who chooses to stop work believes that they would be able to return to work for high pay at some point in the future. By studying panel responses Caplin and colleagues will begin to develop appropriate structural models of labor market behavior and design a complementary survey that will focus on labor market preferences and behaviors. This work will not only yield interesting insights in itself, but will be useful to future discussions about how how labor-market activities questions on the HRS can be made more robust.

    To improve measurement and modeling of the evolving labor market behaviors, expectations, and preferences of middle and upper-middle income households headed by older Americans

    More
  • grantee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    amount: $399,545
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2012

    To provide seed grants to launch twelve new science festival initiatives in communities with small resource bases

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program New Media
    • Investigator John Durant

    This two-year grant funds a project by John Durant and the MIT Museum, leaders in the Science Festival Alliance, to launch 12 new science festival initiatives in communities with "relatively small resource bases," supporting festivals in communities that would otherwise lack the budget or experience to launch their own. The Science Festival Alliance has identified four lead festivals-in Wisconsin, Florida, Colorado, and Missouri-to act as models. Harnessing experienced mentors, the Science Festival Alliance will use modest challenge grants and how-to resources to help local science festival efforts get off the ground. Additionally, they will strengthen connections within the science festival community while establishing methods expanding festivals to under-resourced communities. This grant is a promising way to expand the science festival experience to communities across the country and, if successful, would represent a 33 percent increase in the 36 local science festivals that currently exist in America.

    To provide seed grants to launch twelve new science festival initiatives in communities with small resource bases

    More
  • grantee: Drexel University
    amount: $572,082
    city: Philadelphia, PA
    year: 2012

    To develop replicable models and assessment instruments for professional advancement programs to increase institutional capacity supportive of academic leaders from groups underrepresented in STEM

    • Program Higher Education
    • Initiative Professional Advancement of Underrepresented Groups
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Diane Magrane

    ICELA, the International Center for Executive Leadership in Academics at Drexel University, exists to "increase the number and impact of women in academic leadership positions through two innovative programs: Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) and Executive Leadership in Academic Technology and Engineering (ELATE)." ELAM, begun in 1995, is a one-year leadership program to expand the national pool of women qualified for positions of leadership in academic medicine, dentistry, and public health. Now with over 700 graduates, the ELAM program has made significant progress, with alumnae serving in leadership positions from department chair to president at over 180 U.S. and Canadian academic health centers. Notably, 9 of the 23 women deans of U.S. medical schools are ELAM alumnae. Using the ELAM model, ICELA began a ELATE in 2012, focusing on leadership development for senior women faculty in engineering, computer science, and related fields. Funds from this grant support a thorough evaluation of the outcomes and impact (both individual and institutional) of the ELATE classes finishing in June 2013, 2014, and 2015. Besides analyzing the data from the pre- and post-program surveys, the deliverables of the new project will include: 1) a system by which the fellows' institutional action projects will be categorized and tracked to determine whether the original aims for impact have been met; 2) a nationwide survey facilitated by the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) of deans and provosts to ascertain views on the skills and practices necessary for effective leadership and mentoring; and 3) surveys of the deans who nominated the fellows to ascertain their views on the progress and outcomes of the program and to engage them about further development of institutional support for women leaders in CS&E.

    To develop replicable models and assessment instruments for professional advancement programs to increase institutional capacity supportive of academic leaders from groups underrepresented in STEM

    More
  • grantee: New York University
    amount: $494,896
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2012

    To provide summer experiences for a diverse set of young women in high school that will bolster their enthusiasm and aptitude for studying mathematics in college

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Matthew Leingang

    According to the Computing Research Association, the percentage of women earning degrees in computer science peaked in 1984 at just over 37 percent, and has recently fallen to less than 12 percent. The Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at NYU wants to show what can be done about it. Courant has specifically designed a new program for this purpose called the G-STEM (Girl's Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Summer Camp. Targeting high-aptitude girls in New York City area high schools, it features intensive classes, practical internships, one-on-one adult mentoring, positive peer support, and lots of follow-up activities. The goal is to strengthen the perseverance of young women interested in STEM careers as they transition from high school to college. Funds from this grant provide support for the G-STEM program for three years.

    To provide summer experiences for a diverse set of young women in high school that will bolster their enthusiasm and aptitude for studying mathematics in college

    More
  • grantee: Catticus Corporation
    amount: $1,500,000
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2012

    For production support for a three-hour series tracing the history of Silicon Valley to be aired on PBS primetime, along with development of a public education and community outreach campaign

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Television
    • Investigator Michael Schwarz

    Funds from this grant support a project by award-winning producer Michael Schwarz to develop, produce, and air a three-hour PBS special on the intellectual, cultural, and technological history of Silicon Valley from its origins in the 1870s to today. The film will explore how and why Silicon Valley has, decade after decade for nearly 100 years, produced world-changing innovation-not just new products but whole new industries: vacuum tubes, radio, radar, integrated circuits, venture capital, PCs, printers, genetic engineering, software, networking hardware, the internet, social media, cloud computing, mobile. Guided by a distinguished group of scholars, historians of technology, and other experts, the program will examine how the Valley has managed to stay on the cutting edge of technology even as that edge has shifted and pivoted dramatically, and why its success has been so difficult to emulate. By casting a longer and more informed historical lens on Silicon Valley, the proposed show promises to stimulate a deeper understanding of how government, academia, and the private sector can collaborate successfully and also provide new insights on innovation and entrepreneurship, especially as applied to technology. In addition to the three-hour film for broadcast, funds from this grant support a public engagement and educational campaign targeted at middle and high school students, a website, a multiplatform digital media strategy including a social media campaign, short-form videos and interactive maps for web tablets and phones, and a strong publicity and promotion effort that should significantly expand both the audience for the show and discussion of the issues raised.

    For production support for a three-hour series tracing the history of Silicon Valley to be aired on PBS primetime, along with development of a public education and community outreach campaign

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Office of the President
    amount: $591,611
    city: Oakland, CA
    year: 2012

    To support the further technical and community development of the Data Management Plan Tool

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Patricia Cruse

    Shortly after the National Science Foundation began requiring all grant applications include a data management plan, a team based out of the California Digital Library developed and launched an online system to help researchers in the University of California system meet the new requirement. Named the "DMP Tool," the system contains information on funder data management requirements and on the data management resources available at participating universities, enabling researchers to quickly sketch a basic data management plan tailored to their particular proposal and institution. The system was a success. Within its first year, the DMP Tool was used to generate thousands of data management plans and has become an important resource for researchers. Because the DMP Tool was built under significant time constraints, however, the technical architecture that powers it was not developed with an eye towards expansion. As designed, the system is not prepared to accommodate the rapidly expanding number of funding agencies who have data management requirements, the increasing complexity of those requirements, or the quickly changing data management capabilities of member universities. The DMP Tool needs a core code re-write to build in the flexibility needed to meet rising demand. Funds from this grant provide support for a substantial rewriting of the DMP Tool software, with an eye toward flexibility and facilitating the effective use of the DMP Tool at a larger number of research institutions. The resulting website will better structure the metadata about research encoded in data management plans and offer broad analytics about research data management across funders, by capturing data management plans upstream of submission. Suitably rewritten, the DMP Tool has the opportunity to become the standard U.S. facilitator of data management plan creation.

    To support the further technical and community development of the Data Management Plan Tool

    More
  • grantee: Tides Foundation
    amount: $55,000
    city: San Francisco, CA
    year: 2012

    For a planning grant to identify and expand the availability of content from libraries in developing countries into DPLA

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Universal Access to Knowledge
    • Investigator Rima Kupryte

    For a planning grant to identify and expand the availability of content from libraries in developing countries into DPLA

    More
  • grantee: Dartmouth College
    amount: $103,500
    city: Hanover, NH
    year: 2012

    To study the ownership structures multinational firms establish, including documentation of their types, frequencies, and relative advantages

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Leslie Robinson

    To study the ownership structures multinational firms establish, including documentation of their types, frequencies, and relative advantages

    More
  • grantee: Carnegie Mellon University
    amount: $124,000
    city: Pittsburgh, PA
    year: 2012

    To develop techniques for discovering inter company relationships by performing text analysis and natural language processing on unstructured text in SEC disclosure reports

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Noah Smith

    To develop techniques for discovering inter company relationships by performing text analysis and natural language processing on unstructured text in SEC disclosure reports

    More
  • grantee: Open Knowledge Foundation
    amount: $79,350
    city: Cambridge, United Kingdom
    year: 2012

    To prototype interoperability between citizen science platforms

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Rufus Pollock

    To prototype interoperability between citizen science platforms

    More
  • grantee: University of Oklahoma
    amount: $13,162
    city: Norman, OK
    year: 2012

    To support a meeting to explore digital models for the Isis history of science bibliography

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Stephen Weldon

    To support a meeting to explore digital models for the Isis history of science bibliography

    More
  • grantee: Kansas University Endowment Association
    amount: $6,500
    city: Lawrence, KS
    year: 2012

    To partially support the 2013 North American DDI conference

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Larry Hoyle

    To partially support the 2013 North American DDI conference

    More
  • grantee: National Academy of Sciences
    amount: $16,500
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2012

    To provide partial support for communication materials about the benefits of basic research

    • Program Science
    • Investigator Nancy Huddleston

    To provide partial support for communication materials about the benefits of basic research

    More
  • grantee: Coolidge Corner Theatre Foundation
    amount: $20,000
    city: Brookline, MA
    year: 2012

    To support Coolidge Corner Theatre, which leads the Foundation's Science on Screen initiative, in their transition to digital projection

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Denise Kasell

    To support Coolidge Corner Theatre, which leads the Foundation's Science on Screen initiative, in their transition to digital projection

    More
  • grantee: Duke University
    amount: $66,371
    city: Durham, NC
    year: 2012

    To support a meeting on the Evolutionary Biology of the Built Environment

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Craig McClain

    To support a meeting on the Evolutionary Biology of the Built Environment

    More
  • grantee: University of California, San Diego
    amount: $113,940
    city: La Jolla, CA
    year: 2012

    To study training and innovation in the science and engineering workforce

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Economic Analysis of Science and Technology (EAST)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator John Skrentny

    To study training and innovation in the science and engineering workforce

    More
  • grantee: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
    amount: $48,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2012

    To ensure that the Nuclear Power Plant Exporters’ Principles of Conduct process has sustained access to independent expertise

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Initiative Nuclear Nonproliferation
    • Investigator George Perkovich

    To ensure that the Nuclear Power Plant Exporters’ Principles of Conduct process has sustained access to independent expertise

    More
  • grantee: Association of American Colleges and Universities
    amount: $93,150
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2012

    To bring about a cultural shift in undergraduate STEM education, toward a norm in which classroom and laboratory practice align fully with what we know about how people learn

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Linda Slakey

    To bring about a cultural shift in undergraduate STEM education, toward a norm in which classroom and laboratory practice align fully with what we know about how people learn

    More
  • grantee: Stanford University
    amount: $101,491
    city: Stanford, CA
    year: 2012

    To hold a two-day conference at Stanford University on aspects of the institutional adjustments needed to accommodate longer lifetimes, particularly related to working longer and retirement

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator John Shoven

    To hold a two-day conference at Stanford University on aspects of the institutional adjustments needed to accommodate longer lifetimes, particularly related to working longer and retirement

    More
  • grantee: University College London
    amount: $80,000
    city: London, United Kingdom
    year: 2012

    To plan and conduct the inaugural Summer School for graduate students and post?doctoral associates of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Adrian Jones

    To plan and conduct the inaugural Summer School for graduate students and post?doctoral associates of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    More
  • grantee: Columbia University
    amount: $40,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2012

    To develop DiamondDB, a community data Infrastructure for diamond research within the Deep Carbon Observatory

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Kristen Lehnert

    To develop DiamondDB, a community data Infrastructure for diamond research within the Deep Carbon Observatory

    More
  • grantee: Council of Graduate Schools
    amount: $30,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2012

    To provide future STEM faculty with strategies to identify when undergraduate students are most at risk of departing from baccalaureate STEM pathways

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Daniel Denecke

    To provide future STEM faculty with strategies to identify when undergraduate students are most at risk of departing from baccalaureate STEM pathways

    More
  • grantee: University of Arizona
    amount: $20,000
    city: Tucson, AZ
    year: 2012

    To increase the FTE of the program coordinator of the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership at the U of Arizona from 0.43 to 0.71, to continue the exemplary support she provides for the recruitment and retention of Native American graduate students

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Maria Velez

    To increase the FTE of the program coordinator of the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership at the U of Arizona from 0.43 to 0.71, to continue the exemplary support she provides for the recruitment and retention of Native American graduate students

    More
  • grantee: Tufts University
    amount: $124,906
    city: Medford, MA
    year: 2012

    To support the technical and organizational development of the Open Geoportal Cloud

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Patrick Florance

    To support the technical and organizational development of the Open Geoportal Cloud

    More
  • grantee: Association for Computing Machinery
    amount: $19,920
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2012

    To support the 7th biennial Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing Conference

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Matthias Heinkenschloss

    To support the 7th biennial Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing Conference

    More
  • grantee: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
    amount: $750,000
    city: Troy, NY
    year: 2012

    To develop the data science and management dimensions of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Peter Fox

    Funds from this grant support the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in its efforts to provide data science support to the Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO). The RPI team will establish a Deep Carbon Virtual Observatory for community data holdings; provide robust data infrastructure for DCO instrumentation, secretariat, and engagement activities; enable scientific discovery via visualization and analysis; and advance educational aspects of data science among all DCO participants. Planned tasks range from creating tools to capture streams of data from sensors to storing simulation results to creating a DCO-wide bibliographic infrastructure. To maximize the value of the funded activities, the RPI team will look beyond the specific needs of DCO researchers to the larger scientific community and will work closely with the U.S. Geological Survey, National Science Foundation, and counterpart agencies around the world to guide global earth science data infrastructure developments.

    To develop the data science and management dimensions of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    More
  • grantee: Carnegie Institution of Washington
    amount: $250,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2012

    To provide seed funds to create an international consortium on diamond research as part of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Steve Shirey

    Diamonds are the dense quintessence of carbon. Carried near the surface in eruptions of rock from the mantle from below 100 km, diamonds are scientifically significant because they prove the existence of Earth's deep carbon. They also matter because the bubbles or inclusions in them hold precious evidence about Earth at depths that are otherwise inaccessible. This grant funds an initiative led by Steven Shirey of the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism of the Carnegie Institution of Washington to form an international group of diamond researchers that aspires to take diamond research in new directions beyond the traditional bounds of geology, physics, and chemistry. Tapping a group of more than 30 researchers from a dozen nations, the consortium aims to forge a new understanding of the conditions of diamond formation in the deep mantle, how carbon is transported and stored in the mantle now and in the past, and whether a significant reservoir of mantle carbon is primordial or recycled. Grant funds will support the development of consortium organizational infrastructure; the assembly of an internationally accessible diamond reference collection for collaborative research; outreach activities to potential partners in government, academia, and industry; and the creation of information sharing technologies to facilitate cooperation between members. The consortium has the potential to revolutionize our understanding of diamonds and the role they play in the deep mantle and to augment and inform the scientific agenda of the Deep Carbon Observatory.

    To provide seed funds to create an international consortium on diamond research as part of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    More
  • grantee: Mozilla Foundation
    amount: $685,950
    city: Mountain View, CA
    year: 2012

    To improve the quality of software produced by scientists, and to drive the development of tools, practices, and diverse community around digitally networked science

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Kaitlin Thaney

    This grant supports the continued development and expansion of "Software Carpentry", an initiative launched by the Mozilla Foundation to train scientists in best practices for how to use and develop software. Starting with immersive workshops, and following up with online resources and tutorials, the Software Carpentry project provides intensive, hands-on training that allows scientists to thrive in a research environment that is increasingly software-driven. Funds support Mozilla's efforts to expand the Software Carpentry program, conducting workshops and training scientists to design and lead workshops of their own. Additional funds will support the development and launch of a "Webmaking Science Lab", an online portal and set of complementary resources aimed at facilitating the open-source, collaborative, researcher-driven development of scientific software.

    To improve the quality of software produced by scientists, and to drive the development of tools, practices, and diverse community around digitally networked science

    More
  • grantee: University of Rhode Island
    amount: $749,381
    city: Kingston, RI
    year: 2012

    To build a Deep Carbon Observatory Engagement Team and launch and support a suite of community building, engagement, and communications strategies on behalf of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Sara Hickox

    By the time it culminates in 2020, the Foundation expects that the Deep Carbon Observatory will involve nearly 1,000 researchers from scores of research and educational institutions, across dozens of countries, spanning a tremendous number of scientific disciplines, including geology, physics, chemistry, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, and microbiology. Creating and maintaining a coherent, consistent identity for such a distributed, heterogeneous group and facilitating communications within it is crucial if the DCO is to achieve its goals quickly and efficiently. Funds from this grant support efforts by a team led by Sara Hickox at the University of Rhode Island to manage community-building, communication, education, and outreach activities for the DCO. Informed by experience managing education and outreach for the Census of Marine Life, Hickox and her team will facilitate interaction, knowledge-sharing, and coordination among DCO researchers; communicate common goals, methods, plans, and research agendas; produce educational materials; and coordinate the dissemination of DCO research to media outlets and the public.

    To build a Deep Carbon Observatory Engagement Team and launch and support a suite of community building, engagement, and communications strategies on behalf of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    More
  • grantee: WGBH Educational Foundation
    amount: $1,500,000
    city: Boston, MA
    year: 2012

    For co-production of a feature-length dramatic film on Lise Meitner for worldwide theatrical release and for prime time television broadcast as a two-hour special on NOVA

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Paula Apsell

    For co-production of a feature-length dramatic film on Lise Meitner for worldwide theatrical release and for prime time television broadcast as a two-hour special on NOVA

    More
  • grantee: Carnegie Mellon University
    amount: $400,000
    city: Pittsburgh, PA
    year: 2012

    To support the technical development of a platform for archiving executable content and the environment in which it runs, as well as a plan for the institutionalization and ongoing sustainability of such an archive

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Mahadev Satyanarayanan

    Reproducing computational research requires more than having access to lines of code or compiled software. Reproducibility often requires running computations on an identical processor, or using a now defunct operating system. But computer hardware and software become obsolete surprisingly quickly, making the replication of old computational environments difficult or impossible. The advent of cloud computing and virtualization technology has opened a promising opportunity to address this problem. A researcher could preserve not only data and the computational algorithms used to analyze it, but the entire computational environment in which his research was conducted. Future researchers could then use virtualization to precisely replicate that environment, whatever hardware changes the future brings. The power of virtualization makes it not implausible to envision a library of virtual machines simulating every physical computer across the history of computing. This grant supports a project led by Carnegie Mellon computer scientist Mahadev Satyanarayanan and university librarian Gloriana St. Clair to build just such a library, called the "Open Virtual Machine Image Library", known as Olive. Funds will support the technical development of the OLIVE platform, initiatives to reduce the resources required to run archived virtual machines, and the development of a business plan and long-term sustainability strategy.

    To support the technical development of a platform for archiving executable content and the environment in which it runs, as well as a plan for the institutionalization and ongoing sustainability of such an archive

    More
  • grantee: American Film Institute
    amount: $288,000
    city: Los Angeles, CA
    year: 2012

    To encourage the next generation of storytellers to create more realistic and dramatic stories about science and technology, and to challenge stereotypes about scientists and engineers through film

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Joe Petricca

    This grant to the American Film Institute (AFI), one of the Foundation's six film school partners, supports continued efforts to encourage the next generation of filmmakers to incorporate scientific themes and characters in their work, and to challenge stereotypes about scientists and engineers through film. AFI provides a yearly $10,000 prize awarded to the best science or technology-themed screenplay written by an AFI student; an annual $25,000 production award to a science-themed film to help defray production costs; and an annual $35,000 tuition scholarship to a filmmaker with a background in science and a passion for pursuing science-themed filmmaking as a career. Additional funds provide students with expert science to ensure the accuracy of scientific content, and a seminar series where practicing scientists discuss the latest research and discoveries and the potential they hold for narrative filmmaking.

    To encourage the next generation of storytellers to create more realistic and dramatic stories about science and technology, and to challenge stereotypes about scientists and engineers through film

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Los Angeles
    amount: $309,600
    city: Los Angeles, CA
    year: 2012

    For screenwriting and production of science and technology films by top film students

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Etana Jacobson

    This grant provides three years of support to the University of California, Los Angeles' School of Theater, Film and Television, one of the Foundation's six film school partners, for its continuing efforts to encourage the next generation of filmmakers to incorporate scientific themes and characters in their work, and to challenge stereotypes about scientists and engineers through film. UCLA sponsors a number of initiatives to expose film students to the narrative possibilities of exploring science and technology in their work. Grant funds support an annual, full-day colloquium brings together top UCLA science faculty from a wide range of disciplinary backgrounds to lecture on interesting new developments in science and technology; two annual $10,000 screenwriting prizes to be awarded to the best science-themed scripts, an annual $30,000 directing fellowship awarded to the best science themed film project; and funds providing science mentors to ensure the accuracy of science-themed film content and to mentor students as they research and write scripts. The program promises to continue to build on the UCLA program's success in building a cadre of talented young filmmakers eager to explore scientific themes and characters in their careers.

    For screenwriting and production of science and technology films by top film students

    More
  • grantee: University of British Columbia
    amount: $803,943
    city: Vancouver, BC, Canada
    year: 2012

    To enable the Bay View Alliance to accelerate the rate of adaptation, exploration, and effective integration of methods of instruction that better support improved student learning, targeting key STEM gateway courses

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Lorne Whitehead

    Though studies indicate that pedagogy that incorporates "active learning" results in significantly higher student outcomes, the traditional "professors lecture, students listen" teaching format remains stubbornly predominant in STEM higher education. This grant funds a project by the Bay View Alliance (BVA), a consortium of seven large public flagship universities in the U.S. and Canada, to jointly study the features of institutional and faculty culture that inhibit the spread of new pedagogical techniques and approaches inside colleges and universities. The BVA will design, implement, and then evaluate a series of small interventions at member colleges aimed at increasing our understanding of how university administrators can best support improvements in student learning. Grant funds support the development of the administrative and organizational infrastructure necessary to manage the project; the creation of shared protocols for the conduct of research; the design, implementation and analysis of interventions; and the dissemination of results and findings.

    To enable the Bay View Alliance to accelerate the rate of adaptation, exploration, and effective integration of methods of instruction that better support improved student learning, targeting key STEM gateway courses

    More
  • grantee: Business-Higher Education Forum
    amount: $397,858
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2012

    To launch and scale new curricular and pedagogical models of industry-higher education collaboration aimed at increasing the recruitment and persistence of STEM students

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Stephen Barkanic

    Funds from this grant support a project by the Business-Higher Education Forum, an innovative regional partnership between industry and academia in the state of Maryland, to further develop and expand an undergraduate cybersecurity curriculum across the University of Maryland system that provides students with the skills and training sought by regional employers. A pioneering exercise in collaborative curriculum development, the project has the potential to serve as a model for how educators and private industry can effectively collaborate to maximize the value of university education for students. Funds from Sloan will support the creation of the USM Undergraduate Cybersecurity Network to coordinate curriculum, internships, advanced degrees, and job opportunities in the Washington, D.C.-Maryland region. Joint efforts will allow the collection and analysis of student academic performance, demographic, and employment data from all institutions with respect to initial enrollment, early stage persistence, transfer and articulation, declared majors, graduates, and number of job offers; data on number and involvement of industry professionals in curriculum development and internship responsibilities; and the use of the data to inform curriculum and pedagogy. It is expected that program capacity will be expanded so that 585 additional undergraduates enroll in cybersecurity programs by 2015 and 20 percent more bachelor's degrees are earned in cyber-related fields by 2018. In addition, the program will be designed with a focus on increasing the recruitment and retention of women and underrepresented minorities into the cybersecurity program.

    To launch and scale new curricular and pedagogical models of industry-higher education collaboration aimed at increasing the recruitment and persistence of STEM students

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Berkeley
    amount: $850,000
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2012

    To analyze the neonatal intensive care unit room environment as a source of microorganisms colonizing the gastrointestinal tract of premature infants

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Jillian Banfield

    This grant supports efforts by Jill Banfield of the University of California, Berkeley and Michael Morowitz, of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center 's Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh to study how premature infants-born sterile, separated from their mothers, and isolated in neonatal intensive care units" (NICUs)-nevertheless develop intestinal microbiota necessary for normal human digestion. Preliminary studies suggest that infants acquire the needed microbes from microbes in the NICU, and Banfield, Morowitz and their team will explore that hypothesis. They will conduct comprehensive, next generation high resolution ecological surveys of hospital air and surfaces to link them with microbial colonization of the infant GI tract. The project will involve building a mathematical model for simulating microbial transport within the NICU, which will be used to interpret collected date and make predictions about the efficacy of future interventions.

    To analyze the neonatal intensive care unit room environment as a source of microorganisms colonizing the gastrointestinal tract of premature infants

    More
  • grantee: The University of Chicago
    amount: $856,900
    city: Chicago, IL
    year: 2012

    To characterize the surface, air, water and human-associated microbial communities in two hospitals to monitor changes following the introduction of patients and staff

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Jack Gilbert

    Funds from this grant support a research project by University of Chicago microbiologist Jack Gilbert and Chicago surgeon John Alverdy, to study microbial populations at a newly constructed hospital at the University of Chicago. By studying the characteristics of microbial populations before and after the hospital becomes operational, the project will shed light on how the introduction of doctors, nurses, patients, and visitors, staff change the microbes that live and thrive in hospital environments. Using a multidisciplinary team that includes microbial ecologists architects, building scientists, statisticians, and epidemiologists, Gilbert and Alverdy will take nearly 13,000 microbial samples and analyze them to investigate whether microbial community structure on hospital surfaces can be predicted by human demographics, physical conditions and/or building materials; how patient-room microbiota is influenced by the current patient, his length of stay, and/or the introduction of a new patient; how the colonization of surfaces by pathogens of surfaces is sped or impeded by existing microbial communities on those surfaces, and how the rate of change in a microbial community is affected by building materials and human use. The team plans to publish at least three articles on their research in peer-reviewed journals, and their findings may be of use to the health care community, leading to better patient care through crafting a more complete understanding of how microorganisms spread through hospitals.

    To characterize the surface, air, water and human-associated microbial communities in two hospitals to monitor changes following the introduction of patients and staff

    More
  • grantee: RAND Corporation
    amount: $498,059
    city: Santa Monica, CA
    year: 2012

    To obtain a comprehensive characterization of the role of firms in labor force transitions of older workers in the United States with comparative analyses to the role of firms in Germany

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Till von Wachter

    This grant funds research investigating demand for older workers in labor markets and how the behavior of firms affect older worker's decisions to work beyond conventional retirement age. Led by Till Von Wachter, previously of Columbia and now at UCLA and RAND, David Card of UC Berkeley, and Lars Vilhuber of the U.S. Census Bureau, the research team will analyze the role of firms in labor force transitions of older workers in the United States, with a comparative analysis to firm behaviors in Germany. Their research addresses four critical questions. "First, do common firm-level events, such as mass layoffs and plant closings, contribute significantly to observed retirement rates? Second, is there a significant difference in the rate of early retirement among firms (net of worker characteristics)? Third, do differences in firm-specific retirement rates correlate with more commonly studied firm-level differences in wages and productivity, and what do the results imply for the sources of firm-level differences in retirement rates? Fourth, is the role of firms in retirement similar in Germany?" In addition to providing valuable insights, the effort promise to draw scholarly attention to the need for additional research on the demand side of the older worker labor market.

    To obtain a comprehensive characterization of the role of firms in labor force transitions of older workers in the United States with comparative analyses to the role of firms in Germany

    More
  • grantee: George Mason University
    amount: $100,000
    city: Fairfax, VA
    year: 2012

    Winner of the 2012 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Best Practices for Faculty Retirement Transitions

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Linda Harber

    Winner of the 2012 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Best Practices for Faculty Retirement Transitions

    More
  • grantee: New York Hall of Science
    amount: $320,514
    city: Corona, NY
    year: 2012

    To create an interactive eBook for iPad that incorporates compelling narratives from the Innocence Project with scientific themes of DNA used as evidence and cognitive and perception biases

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program New Media
    • Investigator Eric Siegel

    This grant funds the production of an interactive new eBook, Innocence, Guilt and Science. Authored by New York Times reporter Jim Dwyer and produced in conjunction with the Innocent Project, the book will detail some of the more than 250 death row convictions and life sentences the Innocent Project has helped overturn through the use of DNA evidence. The book will explore how cutting edge advances in genomics is affecting the judicial system, including how they sheds light on the subjective distortions of more traditional forensic "science" based on perception and memory. Innocence Guilt and Science will also push the envelope of eBook technology, integrating traditional written narrative with photos and court documents, in-depth video clips, links to online resources, and interactive games that will allow readers to explore scientific themes. Innocence, Guilt and Science will provide the public with a deeper understanding of the science of DNA testing and how it is used to identify individuals; and also with a greater grasp of the science of perception, cognition, and the many distortions that our memories introduce.

    To create an interactive eBook for iPad that incorporates compelling narratives from the Innocence Project with scientific themes of DNA used as evidence and cognitive and perception biases

    More
  • grantee: Harvard University
    amount: $277,661
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2012

    To develop, refine, and promulgate an agenda for energy efficiency research

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Behavioral Economics and Household Finance (BEHF)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Robert Stavins

    The "Energy Efficiency Paradox" refers to the stubborn fact that energy efficiency improvements judged cost effective in theory nevertheless fail to find wide adoption in practice. Surprisingly few people, for example, weatherize their homes even when given all sorts of information and incentives. Though many researchers have studied aspects of the paradox, no serious, concerted research initiative to understand it has been conducted. This grant supports a project by economists Robert Stavins and Richard Newell to lay the groundwork for such a comprehensive initiative. Stavins and Newell will conduct a review of the relevant economic literature on the Energy Efficiency Paradox, hold a conference, publish a monograph, and provide other scholarly infrastructure, including a shared, online, and annotated bibliographic database of relevant research.

    To develop, refine, and promulgate an agenda for energy efficiency research

    More
  • grantee: University of Texas, Austin
    amount: $3,200,145
    city: Austin, TX
    year: 2012

    To follow up the original nationally representative High School and Beyond (HSB) study to produce a valuable new data infrastructure and research findings about the foundation for working longer

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Chandra Muller

    This grant funds a project by sociologist Chandra Muller and economist Sandra Black at the University of Texas to re-contact and survey the nationally representative High School and Beyond (HSB) sophomore class cohort, a sample of nearly 15,000 individuals, just before most turn 50 years old. The original HSB surveyed this cohort every two years from 1980 to 1986, and again in 1992. Data collected include metrics on cognitive and noncognitive skills, parent and teacher evaluations, high school transcripts, student financial aid records, utilization patterns of public entitlement programs, college transcripts, early-life work experiences, and answers to detailed student questionnaires. Resurveying this cohort now, more than 30 years after the initial survey, will create a uniquely rich and robust public use dataset that will enable scholars from diverse disciplines to study in previously unavailable detail the relationship between early-life human capital and later-life outcomes.

    To follow up the original nationally representative High School and Beyond (HSB) study to produce a valuable new data infrastructure and research findings about the foundation for working longer

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Berkeley
    amount: $855,763
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2012

    To plan, coordinate, and facilitate interdisciplinary research on energy efficiency

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Behavioral Economics and Household Finance (BEHF)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Catherine Wolfram

    The "Energy Efficiency Paradox" refers to the stubborn fact that energy efficiency improvements judged cost effective in theory nevertheless fail to find wide adoption in practice. Surprisingly few people, for example, weatherize their homes even when given all sorts of information and incentives. Though many researchers have studied aspects of the paradox, no serious, concerted research initiative to understand it has been conducted. Funds from this grant support the efforts of Elizabeth Bailey at the University of California, Berkeley to convene a working group to recruit and resource coordinated research projects that can help resolve the Energy Efficiency Paradox. Funded activities include efforts to build an active community of economists, engineers, and behavioral scientists to conduct coordinated research in cooperation with business owners, investors, consumers, utility officials, energy entrepreneurs, and public policymakers. The Bailey working group will seek financial support for energy efficiency research and provide support resources to associated researchers, including setting methodological and metadata standards, facilitating data access, and supporting archiving infrastructure.

    To plan, coordinate, and facilitate interdisciplinary research on energy efficiency

    More
  • grantee: National Academy of Social Insurance
    amount: $450,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2012

    To help Americans understand how they can enhance their long-term retirement security by working longer and delaying Social Security benefits

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Virginia Reno

    Lack of confidence about the future of Social Security has led many Americans mistakenly to believe that they had better file for Social Security benefits as soon as they are eligible (typically when they turn 62), so they can lock in their benefits before Social Security "is gone." Yet Social Security's finances are more secure than most Americans think, and analysis shows that for the typical American it is economically advantageous to start taking benefits no earlier than full retirement age (now 66) and in many cases to delay taking benefits until age 70. To help American workers make retirement decisions based on accurate information, it is imperative to both clarify the future of Social Security's finances and its capacity to meet future benefit commitments and to communicate the advantages of delaying benefits. Funds from this grant support a project by the National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI) to design and execute an integrated public education initiative aimed at helping middle- and lower-income Americans understand how they can enhance their long-term retirement security by working longer and delaying receipt of Social Security benefits. NASI will produce a series of accurate, high-quality written, visual, and graphic materials accessible to the public that will lay out the economic advantages of working longer and delaying Social Security and combat commonly held misconceptions about the economics of retirement. Based on the most up-to-date research, the materials will then be disseminated to the public through financial planners, HR professionals, journalists, and non-profit community-based grassroots organizations.

    To help Americans understand how they can enhance their long-term retirement security by working longer and delaying Social Security benefits

    More
  • grantee: University of Pennsylvania
    amount: $281,029
    city: Philadelphia, PA
    year: 2012

    To facilitate research on household decision-making by systematically documenting data, including choice architecture information, about state Health Insurance Exchanges

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Behavioral Economics and Household Finance (BEHF)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Thomas Baker

    The Affordable Care Act presents a special opportunity to research how different choice architectures affect consumer choice in a comprehensive manner. At least 15 states plan to design their own exchanges, which are expected to vary significantly. Even exchanges that adopt the federal template will operate with different participating insurers, plans offered, and price controls or other state regulations. Thousands of individuals will purchase plans off the exchanges, opting for one of a set of plans offered. Funds from this grant support a project by Tom Baker at the University of Pennsylvania to ensure that comprehensive data on all these exchanges will be documented and made easily available to researchers. In cooperation with regulators and other officials, Baker and his team will collect and compile details on each exchange's choice architecture, product menu, relevant regulations, and much more. Such data should be useful for behavioral economics and beyond, including studies of adverse selection, market design, and price distortions. Additional funds will support a preliminary workshop for a broad spectrum of fellow researchers to discuss suggestions and build consensus about data collection specifics.

    To facilitate research on household decision-making by systematically documenting data, including choice architecture information, about state Health Insurance Exchanges

    More
  • grantee: The Urban Institute
    amount: $423,824
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2012

    To support research on employment prospects for less-educated older workers

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Richard Johnson

    Men born between 1940 and 1944, who have no more than high school diplomas, are nearly 50 percent more likely than college graduates to claim Social Security benefits at age 62. There are many reasons why less-educated older adults retire early. Workers with limited education have greater incidences of poor health and histories of physically demanding work and are more apt to be employed in the public sector and unionized workplaces, where defined benefit pension plans often discourage work at older ages. But little is known about which of these or other factors are most important in the decision of older Americans with limited educations to end work early. Even less is known about the nature of the work trajectories of those with limited educations who go on to work after 62. This grant supports research by The Urban Institute's Richard Johnson, to investigate these questions. Combining data on detailed job characteristics from the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Information Network (O*Net) with household survey data from the Health and Retirement Study, American Community Survey, and the 1980, 1990, and 2000 decennial censuses, Johnson will investigate how job characteristic and employment and earnings patterns vary by education and how those patterns have changed over the last 30 years. In addition to the research, additional grant funds will support an expert roundtable to discuss the findings and their potential implications for the future course of public policy.

    To support research on employment prospects for less-educated older workers

    More
  • grantee: National Academy of Sciences
    amount: $200,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2012

    To enhance, disseminate, and implement the findings of a study about improving postdoctoral training and career prospects

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Economic Analysis of Science and Technology (EAST)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Kevin Finneran

    Much research in the United States depends on the labor of postdoctoral fellows. Yet system for hiring, training, and compensating postdocs, however, is far from healthy. There were more than 50,000 postdocs in the United States in 2003. Their median salary was just $38,000, a meager amount considering that many are aged 30 or above and have devoted years to specialized training. Many have no health insurance and receive no career training. This grant provides support a report by the National Academy of Science's Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy (COSEPUP) that examines the strengths and weaknesses of the postdoctoral system in the United States and makes recommendations for its improvement. Grant funds will support data collection and analysis, as well as for two workshops to engage academic leaders, research funders, and postdoctoral fellows about the committee's findings. Additional funds will support a project to compile and analyze comprehensive data on U.S. postdoctoral fellows' immigration status and career outcomes.

    To enhance, disseminate, and implement the findings of a study about improving postdoctoral training and career prospects

    More
  • grantee: New York University
    amount: $401,624
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2012

    To analyze the economics of labor markets for information technology workers using administrative datasets

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Economic Analysis of Science and Technology (EAST)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Prasanna Tambe

    Funds from this grant support the research of Prasanna Tambe of New York University, who proposes to exploit new sources of administrative data to shed light on the labor market economics of the IT workforce. Using millions of administrative records collected by popular job-related social media sites LinkedIn and CareerBuilder, Tambe will examine variations in the labor market behaviors of IT workers and firms, examining how the acquisition of IT skills by employees in a firm affect the firm's productivity, how firms value the acquisition of new IT skills, and how employee migration between firms affects the rate of adoption of new technology.

    To analyze the economics of labor markets for information technology workers using administrative datasets

    More
  • grantee: Dartmouth College
    amount: $132,458
    city: Hanover, NH
    year: 2012

    To measure the spread of open access in academic publishing and to test the impact of open access on citation counts and other indicators of research quality

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Economic Analysis of Science and Technology (EAST)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Christopher Snyder

    Funds from this grant support the work of Dartmouth's Chris Snyder as he studies the spread of open access publishing in academia and the impact this spread has had on scientific publication. Snyder's research is divided into three related projects. The first is to construct novel ways to measure the spread of open-access publication that take into account both the quality and quantity of the papers published. The second is to evaluate whether open access actually a paper's citation rate. The third is to examine whether open access journals exhibit less "publication bias," that is, the tendency to search for, cook up, and release only findings that significantly support the hypothesis under investigation. Most open access journals depend on the willingness of authors to pay publication fees. Precise impact measures for the thousands of new open access journals, together with careful estimates of the relationship between open access and journal quality, could therefore have significant impact on publishers, policymakers, academics, and their funders.

    To measure the spread of open access in academic publishing and to test the impact of open access on citation counts and other indicators of research quality

    More
  • grantee: American Institutes for Research
    amount: $795,553
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2012

    To study scientific collaboration and productivity at the project team level

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Economic Analysis of Science and Technology (EAST)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Julia Lane

    Evidence suggests that cooperation among scientists is a growing and important factor determining the productivity of research. The longitudinal data needed for a comprehensive understanding of this trend and its implications, however, are only just becoming available. This grant funds research by a team composed of economist Paula Stephan, econometrician Jacques Mairesse and engineer Lee Fleming to study the model dynamics and productivity of scientific teams. Funds will support data collection and analysis, along with a major conference to discuss research findings and examine the implications for science policy.

    To study scientific collaboration and productivity at the project team level

    More
  • grantee: Astrophysical Research Consortium
    amount: $10,000,000
    city: Seattle, WA
    year: 2012

    To support the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV, which will study the history of the Milky Way, the evolution of galaxies, and the expansion of the Universe and dark energy over the last 12 billion years

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Sloan Digital Sky Survey
    • Investigator Michael Blanton

    This grant funds a fourth phase of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS IV), a pioneering astronomical survey that utilizes a 2.5 meter optical telescope at Apache Point Observatory near Cloudcroft, New Mexico. Over the next six years, SDSS IV will pursue three innovative projects that seek to answer key questions in astronomy and astrophysics. The first project, APOGEE-2, will decipher the history of the growth of the Milky Way's stellar halo; precisely measure the mass of the Milky Way; determine the stellar structure around the galactic center; find stellar companions such as planets, white dwarfs and neutrons stars; and determine stellar masses, ages, and elemental abundances with unprecedented precision. The second, MaNGA will study 6,700 nearby galaxies and measure their dynamics, growth histories, and chemical abundances as a function of their mass, type, environment, and other controlling variables. The third, eBOSS, will measure the expansion of the universe over the past 12 billion years using baryonic acoustic oscillation, the most accurate absolute distance measurement technique known, and filling a gap in current measurements of galaxies between about 6.5 and 11 billion light?years away. eBoss will provide the fullest understanding yet of the so-called "dark energy" that is causing the expansion of the universe to accelerate. As in previous phases of the projects, all SDSS data will be publically released through the internet, enabling astronomers and astrophysicists all over the world to use the data for their own research.

    To support the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV, which will study the history of the Milky Way, the evolution of galaxies, and the expansion of the Universe and dark energy over the last 12 billion years

    More
  • grantee: SoundVision Productions
    amount: $1,098,883
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2012

    For support for BURN: An Energy Journal to expand the public's energy literacy through public radio specials, monthly stories broadcast on Marketplace, and shared productions with National Geographic, as well as online content and outreach

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Radio
    • Investigator Bari Scott

    Funds from this grant support a project by SoundVision Productions to produce an ambitious, multimedia series titled BURN: An Energy Journal. Joined by two major media partners-Marketplace and National Geographic-BURN will focus on energy literacy and teaching the public about our energy future, which will result in two in-depth, one-hour programs on public radio about energy efficiency and future directions in energy. Additional funds will support the creation of a new BURN desk on the popular Marketplace program that will air, for one year, a monthly series of five- to seven-minute pieces on energy-related topics. Partner National Geographic will also distribute BURN content across its many platforms. BURN will include a website that will include four one-hour specials on energy along with a series of podcasts, source lists, and resource links, blogs, and video science explainers from the series' popular host, Alex Chadwick. A partnership with the University of Texas will produce weekly blog entries by top scientists, policymakers, industry leaders, researchers, and other opinion leaders. Additional grant monies will support outreach efforts to minority and ethnic audiences through targeting media channels that serve ethnic and minority constituencies. The BURN project promises to improve the public's basic energy literacy, to take a level-headed look at our energy future, and to stimulate a more realistic and informed public discussion on this critical subject.

    For support for BURN: An Energy Journal to expand the public's energy literacy through public radio specials, monthly stories broadcast on Marketplace, and shared productions with National Geographic, as well as online content and outreach

    More
  • grantee: PRX Incorporated
    amount: $172,328
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2012

    To experiment with new, diverse voices outside the radio mainstream and with new approaches to presenting STEM content for a new generation

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Radio
    • Investigator Jake Shapiro

    This grant funds a project by PRX Incorporated, public radio's largest distribution marketplace, to experiment with new ways to bring high-quality science-themed audio programming to new, younger audiences through the radio and the web. PRX will improve the sound, production, and general appeal of its hour-long science programming, while promoting these shows as specials and excerpting segments for short-term use on podcasts, remixes, blogs, web, and social media sites. In addition, PRX will create three new science podcasts for 99% Invisible, a short-form podcast that addresses creativity and innovation. PRX will also begin integrating existing science content into Public Radio Remix: an edgy, experimental mash-up that creates "a new flow of listening" aimed at younger listeners. Finally, working closely with science advisors, PRX will issue an "open call" for STEM programs and proposals-either identifying exciting new shows that may be off the traditional radar screen and helping them with enhanced production techniques to improve distribution, or taking previously aired or archival work that can be revised, edited, updated, or annotated to make it more timely and accessible for broadcast or streaming. This wide range of PRX initiatives aim to engage an entirely new community and to learn from them, while advancing public understanding of science.

    To experiment with new, diverse voices outside the radio mainstream and with new approaches to presenting STEM content for a new generation

    More
  • grantee: L.A. Theatre Works
    amount: $450,848
    city: Venice, CA
    year: 2012

    To record four new Sloan-commissioned or supported science plays for broadcast on public radio and distributed to schools, libraries, online retail partners and regional theatres, and for development of "Relativity" apps, eBooks, and website material

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Radio
    • Investigator Vicki Pearlson

    This grant to L.A. Theatre Works supports its continuing efforts to produce and disseminate high-quality recordings of science-themed plays. Grants funds will support the recording and public radio broadcast of four science-themed plays produced or commissioned through the Foundation's Theater program, the addition of these recordings to L.A. Theatre Works online library collection, the distribution of two recordings to 3,000 schools nationwide along with the production of teachers' guides and other supplementary educational material, and the design and production of ten ebooks and ten smartphone apps adapted from existing science-themed plays in the L.A. Theatre Works corpus. This ambitious series of projects promises to significantly extend the reach of grantmaking in the Foundation's Theater program.

    To record four new Sloan-commissioned or supported science plays for broadcast on public radio and distributed to schools, libraries, online retail partners and regional theatres, and for development of "Relativity" apps, eBooks, and website material

    More
  • grantee: Research Foundation of the State University of New York
    amount: $124,391
    city: Albany, NY
    year: 2012

    To develop and launch an educational pilot program to train and network women entrepreneurs and investors in the NYC area

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Carol Reiser

    To develop and launch an educational pilot program to train and network women entrepreneurs and investors in the NYC area

    More
  • grantee: Research Foundation of the City University of New York
    amount: $124,923
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2012

    To enhance the reputation of CUNY faculty by developing a program to increase the number of national and international awards and prizes received by CUNY faculty in STEM fields

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Vita Rabinowitz

    To enhance the reputation of CUNY faculty by developing a program to increase the number of national and international awards and prizes received by CUNY faculty in STEM fields

    More
  • grantee: Corporation for National Research Initiatives
    amount: $497,103
    city: Reston, VA
    year: 2012

    To develop and demonstrate an open-source software platform that facilitates interoperability among disparate information systems

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Laurence Lannom

    The Center for National Research Initiatives (CNRI) is the lead developer of the "Handle System," an open-source, publicly licensed, and popular technology specification for identifying and tracking digital objects. Used by over a thousand different organizations in more than 50 countries, the system deploys identifiers called "handles," that can be used to identify and track everything from scholarly publications to datasets to songs to movies. Unlike URLs, which specify the location where a particular instance of a set of digital information can be found, handles are independent of where the digital object is hosted, allowing users of system to locate a digital object wherever it may be located. Funds from this grant support the continued development and expansion of the Handle System, with a focus on expanding the system so that it works seamlessly across multiple digital object registries disparate data types not previously considered and to demonstrate the system's effectiveness through the development of use cases.

    To develop and demonstrate an open-source software platform that facilitates interoperability among disparate information systems

    More
  • grantee: Stevens Institute of Technology
    amount: $390,584
    city: Hoboken, NJ
    year: 2012

    To prototype and test algorithms for accurately approximating the state-contingent cash flows of financial contract types

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Khaldoun Khashanah

    What should financial regulators do about systemic risk? Ideally, many would like to describe, track, and aggregate the implications of nearly every significant financial contract around the world. Though daunting in scope, doing so would be technically quite feasible. The coordination necessary to make such a system work would be much more challenging than building it. Indeed, at smaller scales, professional risk managers already describe, track, and aggregate contract implications every day. Their data systems, however, are ad hoc and proprietary. Both the inputs and outputs of their risk calculations may be totally incomparable across different organizations-or even within the same institution. What's needed is a way to standardize the characterization of financial contracts. An international team led by the Stevens Institute of Technology is already working on the open-source software needed. They claim that the cash flow implications of nearly any financial agreement can be accurately approximated using just 30 standardized "contract types." Like Lego blocks, these can fit together to model quite complicated and comprehensive structures. Their widespread use would give both regulators and financial institutions the ability to "put all the pieces together" and model financial risk in ways that are impossible now. This grant provides funds to support the development and deployment of a pilot open-source "contract typing" software system with the ability to accurately model the cash flow implications of a wide range of financial contracts. Funds will support software development, testing, refinement, infrastructure, and outreach in an attempt to demonstrate the feasibility of such a software system.

    To prototype and test algorithms for accurately approximating the state-contingent cash flows of financial contract types

    More
  • grantee: The Brookings Institution
    amount: $225,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2012

    To demonstrate new ways an economics journal can help curate, visualize, and update the empirical data linked to its articles

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Karen Dynan

    Funds from this grant support a series of data-oriented improvements to the influential Brookings Papers on Economic Activity (BPEA) that will make its papers as replicable, interactive, and technologically empowered as those at the forefront of innovation in other fields. Planned improvements include adding the capacity to include new data as they arrive, thus keeping the analyses and conclusions in a paper up-to-date for years after publication. Also planned are upgrades that will enable papers to come with embedded code and interactive data visualizations that allow readers to test alternative regression specifications, change parameter settings, or adjust the time frame analyzed, all within the paper. Funds would primarily support the requisite technical updates to the BPEA website, with additional monies for user support and for incentive funds for authors who commit to making periodic updates to their data and findings.

    To demonstrate new ways an economics journal can help curate, visualize, and update the empirical data linked to its articles

    More
  • grantee: Polytechnic Institute of New York University
    amount: $74,398
    city: Brooklyn, NY
    year: 2012

    To support a workshop and requirements gathering meetings on software infrastructure for reproducibility in science

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Juliana Freire

    To support a workshop and requirements gathering meetings on software infrastructure for reproducibility in science

    More
  • grantee: University of Minnesota
    amount: $19,500
    city: Minneapolis, MN
    year: 2012

    To support a meeting on citizen science and citizen-generated data

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Amy Kircher

    To support a meeting on citizen science and citizen-generated data

    More
  • grantee: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
    amount: $250,000
    city: Blacksburg, VA
    year: 2012

    To determine the effects of pipe materials, water flow, and chemistry on the building plumbing microbiome

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Amy Pruden

    To determine the effects of pipe materials, water flow, and chemistry on the building plumbing microbiome

    More
  • grantee: University of Toronto
    amount: $250,000
    city: Toronto, ON, Canada
    year: 2012

    To design improved testing methods for common building materials

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator James Scott

    To design improved testing methods for common building materials

    More
  • grantee: Northern Arizona University
    amount: $249,877
    city: Flagstaff, AZ
    year: 2012

    To analyze and model the establishment of microbial communities over time on different office surface materials in different climates

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator J. Caporaso

    To analyze and model the establishment of microbial communities over time on different office surface materials in different climates

    More
  • grantee: Harvard University
    amount: $249,739
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2012

    To examine the transmission of human?-associated microbes by public transportation surfaces

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Curtis Huttenhower

    To examine the transmission of human?-associated microbes by public transportation surfaces

    More
  • grantee: Brown University
    amount: $30,000
    city: Providence, RI
    year: 2012

    To hold a conference that will provide a venue in which mathematicians and computer scientists can interact over several days in an environment designed to foster collaboration and create meaningful connections for the promotion of mathematical excellence

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Jill Pipher

    To hold a conference that will provide a venue in which mathematicians and computer scientists can interact over several days in an environment designed to foster collaboration and create meaningful connections for the promotion of mathematical excellence

    More
  • grantee: University of Pittsburgh
    amount: $117,185
    city: Pittsburgh, PA
    year: 2012

    To support research and a book on the role of social and human capital in mathematics teaching and achievement in NYC public schools

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Frits Pil

    To support research and a book on the role of social and human capital in mathematics teaching and achievement in NYC public schools

    More
  • grantee: Stanford University
    amount: $250,000
    city: Stanford, CA
    year: 2012

    To further accelerate the school's progress in achieving faculty career flexibility. Funds granted to institution as a winner of the 2012 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Faculty Career Flexibility in Medical Schools

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Jennifer Raymond

    To further accelerate the school's progress in achieving faculty career flexibility. Funds granted to institution as a winner of the 2012 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Faculty Career Flexibility in Medical Schools

    More
  • grantee: Upstate Medical University
    amount: $25,000
    city: Syracuse, NY
    year: 2012

    To further accelerate the school's progress in achieving faculty career flexibility. Funds granted to institution as a winner of the 2012 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Faculty Career Flexibility in Medical Schools

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Paula Trief

    To further accelerate the school's progress in achieving faculty career flexibility. Funds granted to institution as a winner of the 2012 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Faculty Career Flexibility in Medical Schools

    More
  • grantee: Washington University in St. Louis
    amount: $250,000
    city: St. Louis, MO
    year: 2012

    To further accelerate the school's progress in achieving faculty career flexibility. Funds granted to institution as a winner of the 2012 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Faculty Career Flexibility in Medical Schools

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Diana Gray

    To further accelerate the school's progress in achieving faculty career flexibility. Funds granted to institution as a winner of the 2012 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Faculty Career Flexibility in Medical Schools

    More
  • grantee: Boston University
    amount: $250,000
    city: Boston, MA
    year: 2012

    To further accelerate the school's progress in achieving faculty career flexibility. Winner of the 2012 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Faculty Career Flexibility in Medical Schools

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Emelia Benjamin

    To further accelerate the school's progress in achieving faculty career flexibility. Winner of the 2012 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Faculty Career Flexibility in Medical Schools

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Davis
    amount: $25,000
    city: Davis, CA
    year: 2012

    To further accelerate the school's progress in achieving faculty career flexibility. Funds granted to institution as a winner of the 2012 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Faculty Career Flexibility in Medical Schools

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Lydia Howell

    To further accelerate the school's progress in achieving faculty career flexibility. Funds granted to institution as a winner of the 2012 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Faculty Career Flexibility in Medical Schools

    More
  • grantee: University of Massachusetts Medical School
    amount: $250,000
    city: Worcester, MA
    year: 2012

    To further accelerate the school's progress in achieving faculty career flexibility. Funds granted to institution as a winner of the 2012 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Faculty Career Flexibility in Medical Schools

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Luanne Thorndyke

    To further accelerate the school's progress in achieving faculty career flexibility. Funds granted to institution as a winner of the 2012 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Faculty Career Flexibility in Medical Schools

    More
  • grantee: Indiana University
    amount: $250,000
    city: Bloomington, IN
    year: 2012

    To further accelerate progress in achieving faculty career flexibility. Funds granted to institution as a winner of the 2012 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Faculty Career Flexibility in Medical Schools

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Mary Dankoski

    To further accelerate progress in achieving faculty career flexibility. Funds granted to institution as a winner of the 2012 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Faculty Career Flexibility in Medical Schools

    More
  • grantee: Industrial Organizational Society, Inc.
    amount: $20,000
    city: East Lansing, MI
    year: 2012

    To support graduate student presentations at the International Industrial Organization Conference

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Joseph Harrington

    To support graduate student presentations at the International Industrial Organization Conference

    More
  • grantee: Bentley University
    amount: $100,000
    city: Waltham, MA
    year: 2012

    In recognition of the institution's 2012 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Best Practices for Faculty Retirement Transitions

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Stacy Bradbury

    In recognition of the institution's 2012 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Best Practices for Faculty Retirement Transitions

    More
  • grantee: Princeton University
    amount: $100,000
    city: Princeton, NJ
    year: 2012

    Winner of the 2012 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Best Practices for Faculty Retirement Transitions

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Joan Gingas

    Winner of the 2012 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Best Practices for Faculty Retirement Transitions

    More
  • grantee: Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association Inc.
    amount: $125,000
    city: Arlington, VA
    year: 2012

    To enhance public understanding of the issues raised by an aging U.S. workforce

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Linda Winslow

    To enhance public understanding of the issues raised by an aging U.S. workforce

    More
  • grantee: Princeton University
    amount: $6,000
    city: Princeton, NJ
    year: 2012

    To support a full-day workshop aimed at producing an outline for a Digital Science and Technology Studies Handbook

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Janet Vertesi

    To support a full-day workshop aimed at producing an outline for a Digital Science and Technology Studies Handbook

    More
  • grantee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    amount: $4,500
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2012

    To remove, clean, restore, and relocate the portrait of Alfred P. Sloan that currently hangs in the E52 Sloan Building Lobby

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Beth Ogar

    To remove, clean, restore, and relocate the portrait of Alfred P. Sloan that currently hangs in the E52 Sloan Building Lobby

    More
  • grantee: Yale University
    amount: $20,000
    city: New Haven, CT
    year: 2012

    To diagnose the pressure points along the academic pipeline for women by developing an assessment tool

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Priyamvada Natarajan

    To diagnose the pressure points along the academic pipeline for women by developing an assessment tool

    More
  • grantee: University of Southern California
    amount: $100,000
    city: Los Angeles, CA
    year: 2012

    Winner of the 2012 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Best Practices for Faculty Retirement Transitions

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Marty Levine

    Winner of the 2012 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Best Practices for Faculty Retirement Transitions

    More
  • grantee: University of Washington
    amount: $100,000
    city: Seattle, WA
    year: 2012

    Winner of the 2012 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Best Practices for Faculty Retirement Transitions

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Cheryl Cameron

    Winner of the 2012 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Best Practices for Faculty Retirement Transitions

    More
  • grantee: Georgia Institute of Technology
    amount: $100,000
    city: Atlanta, GA
    year: 2012

    Winner of the 2012 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Best Practices for Faculty Retirement Transitions

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Rosario Gerhardt

    Winner of the 2012 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Best Practices for Faculty Retirement Transitions

    More
  • grantee: University of Baltimore
    amount: $100,000
    city: Baltimore, MD
    year: 2012

    In recognition of the institution's 2012 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Best Practices for Faculty Retirement Transitions

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Margarita Cardona

    In recognition of the institution's 2012 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Best Practices for Faculty Retirement Transitions

    More
  • grantee: Skidmore College
    amount: $100,000
    city: Saratoga Springs, NY
    year: 2012

    Winner of the 2012 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Best Practices for Faculty Retirement Transitions

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Beau Breslin

    Winner of the 2012 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Best Practices for Faculty Retirement Transitions

    More
  • grantee: Wellesley College
    amount: $100,000
    city: Wellesley, MA
    year: 2012

    Winner of the 2012 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Best Practices for Faculty Retirement Transitions

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Kathryn Lynch

    Winner of the 2012 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Best Practices for Faculty Retirement Transitions

    More
  • grantee: San Jose State University
    amount: $100,000
    city: San Jose, CA
    year: 2012

    Winner of the 2012 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Best Practices for Faculty Retirement Transitions

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Pamela Stacks

    Winner of the 2012 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Best Practices for Faculty Retirement Transitions

    More
  • grantee: Mount Holyoke College
    amount: $100,000
    city: South Hadley, MA
    year: 2012

    Winner of the 2012 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Best Practices for Faculty Retirement Transitions

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Lynn Pasquerella

    Winner of the 2012 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Best Practices for Faculty Retirement Transitions

    More
  • grantee: Xavier University
    amount: $100,000
    city: Cincinnati, OH
    year: 2012

    Winner of the 2012 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Best Practices for Faculty Retirement Transitions

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Mary Kochlefl

    Winner of the 2012 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Best Practices for Faculty Retirement Transitions

    More
  • grantee: Albright College
    amount: $100,000
    city: Reading, PA
    year: 2012

    In recognition of the institution's 2012 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Best Practices for Faculty Retirement Transitions

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Andrea Chapdelaine

    In recognition of the institution's 2012 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Best Practices for Faculty Retirement Transitions

    More
  • grantee: Carleton College
    amount: $100,000
    city: Northfield, MN
    year: 2012

    In recognition of the institution's 2012 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Best Practices for Faculty Retirement Transitions

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Beverly Nagel

    In recognition of the institution's 2012 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Best Practices for Faculty Retirement Transitions

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Davis
    amount: $100,000
    city: Davis, CA
    year: 2012

    In recognition of the institution's 2012 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Best Practices for Faculty Retirement Transitions

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Maureen Stanton

    In recognition of the institution's 2012 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Best Practices for Faculty Retirement Transitions

    More
  • grantee: GuideStar USA, Inc.
    amount: $7,500
    city: Williamsburg, VA
    year: 2012

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Lauren Walinsky

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    More
  • grantee: Sage Bionetworks
    amount: $124,959
    city: Seattle, WA
    year: 2012

    To prototype interfaces for scholarly communication on top of the existing Synapse computational research management platform

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Erich Huang

    To prototype interfaces for scholarly communication on top of the existing Synapse computational research management platform

    More
  • grantee: Azavea, Inc.
    amount: $49,976
    city: Philadelphia, PA
    year: 2012

    To assess the strengths and weaknesses of existing systems and design a scalable technology platform for citizen science data collection

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Robert Cheetham

    To assess the strengths and weaknesses of existing systems and design a scalable technology platform for citizen science data collection

    More
  • grantee: United Jewish Appeal - Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York, Inc.
    amount: $10,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2012

    to support the work of UJA in memory of Charlotte and Jules Joskow

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Liliya Markel

    to support the work of UJA in memory of Charlotte and Jules Joskow

    More
  • grantee: National Academy of Sciences
    amount: $100,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2012

    To provide evidence-based guidance to post-secondary faculty in science and engineering on how to improve their instruction and to improve undergraduate science education in order to improve students' learning and increase retention of students in science

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Heidi Schweingruber

    To provide evidence-based guidance to post-secondary faculty in science and engineering on how to improve their instruction and to improve undergraduate science education in order to improve students' learning and increase retention of students in science

    More
  • grantee: National Academy of Sciences
    amount: $100,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2012

    To provide evidence-based findings and actionable recommendations on the increasingly complex pathways undergraduate students take into and out of STEM degree programs

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Martin Storksdieck

    To provide evidence-based findings and actionable recommendations on the increasingly complex pathways undergraduate students take into and out of STEM degree programs

    More
  • grantee: National Academy of Sciences
    amount: $44,244
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2012

    To support a one-day workshop on Science in the Administrative Process

    • Program Science
    • Investigator Anne-Marie Mazza

    To support a one-day workshop on Science in the Administrative Process

    More
  • grantee: Chrinon Limited
    amount: $116,048
    city: London, United Kingdom
    year: 2012

    To demonstrate methods for identifying ownership and other relationships among corporate legal entities

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Chris Taggart

    To demonstrate methods for identifying ownership and other relationships among corporate legal entities

    More
  • grantee: Catticus Corporation
    amount: $59,600
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2012

    As a planning grant to support research and development of a three-hour documentary series tracing the history of Silicon Valley

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Television
    • Investigator Michael Schwarz

    As a planning grant to support research and development of a three-hour documentary series tracing the history of Silicon Valley

    More
  • grantee: University of Rhode Island
    amount: $101,876
    city: Kingston, RI
    year: 2012

    For internal infrastructure and actions for implementing engagement and communications strategies on behalf of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Sara Hickox

    For internal infrastructure and actions for implementing engagement and communications strategies on behalf of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    More
  • grantee: Hunter College of the City University of New York
    amount: $57,708
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2012

    To develop a model for ScienceBetter, a network of domain-specific websites to support informal information dissemination about the innovative approaches to scholarly practice

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Kelle Cruz

    To develop a model for ScienceBetter, a network of domain-specific websites to support informal information dissemination about the innovative approaches to scholarly practice

    More
  • grantee: Foundation Center
    amount: $140,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2012

    To support the development of web interfaces and an application programming interface to the Foundation Center's rich store of philanthropic data

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator R. Albilal

    Funds from this grant support a project by the Foundation Center, a nonprofit organization that aggregates records from hundreds of foundations, to enhance the usefulness and accessibility of its data. Supported activities include the development of an application programming interface (API) to allow direct computational access the Foundation Center's database, enabling the third party developers to create apps or other programs that usefully access Foundation Center data. Also supported are efforts to enhance the Foundation Center's website, promoting more sophisticated database queries and the visualization of data showing grantmaking trends. This project is jointly supported by grants from the Knight Foundation and the Commonwealth Fund

    To support the development of web interfaces and an application programming interface to the Foundation Center's rich store of philanthropic data

    More
  • grantee: Johns Hopkins University
    amount: $425,000
    city: Baltimore, MD
    year: 2012

    To develop a hosted platform for managing and linking scientific data by combining and extending tools that were developed within the context of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Archive and the Virtual Astronomical Observatory

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Alexander Szalay

    Originally funded with the help of the Sloan Foundation in 1992, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey was the first major telescopic survey to publish its data under open principles. Every single image ever collected by the Survey's 2.5 meter optical telescope is available for download by astronomers, astrophysicists and other researchers. The sheer size of the data collected, however, presented its own problems. The Sloan Digital Sky Survey corpus was simply too large for every researcher to download a full copy. In response, Johns Hopkins astronomer Alex Szalay and others developed a data infrastructure that allowed astronomers to selectively query the SDSS database, extracting only those slices that were of interest to them, and which logged every database query for later documentation. To increase the usefulness of SDSS data, Szalay also built a system that allowed astronomers to upload their own datasets which could then be easily linked with the SDSS data "in the cloud" for individual analyses and for sharing with small groups of colleagues or the broader public. Funds from this grant supports efforts by Szalay to improve and expand the SDSS data infrastructure in a number of key dimensions, revamping the data uploading process to make it more user-friendly, enabling the server to extrapolate meta-data as a way to reduce time-intensive data entry, and customizing the database in ways that would make it friendlier to researchers working in other data-intensive fields, like genomics or climatology.

    To develop a hosted platform for managing and linking scientific data by combining and extending tools that were developed within the context of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Archive and the Virtual Astronomical Observatory

    More
  • grantee: Fund for the City of New York
    amount: $731,554
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2012

    To launch DataKind, an organization to better connect data scientists with volunteer opportunities and encourage best data practices among nonprofits

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Jake Porway

    A "data scientist" is someone who combines mathematical and statistical sophistication, the computational skills necessary to perform hands?on analysis of data at large scale, and the communication abilities to convey results meaningfully through visualizations and narrative. This combination of skills is still quite rare and highly in demand: an oft?cited McKinsey report published in 2011 estimates that the United States will need an additional 140,000 to 190,000 data scientists by 2018. Nonprofit organizations lag industry in the use of data scientists. Even when an organization sees how data science could improve their understanding of their clients or improve the efficacy of their work, they often lack the internal expertise and resources to take action. DataKind is a new organization founded to bridge exactly this gap. Inspired by the Teach for America model, Datakind aims to connect mission?driven organizations with designers, programmers, and statisticians from the burgeoning data science community who are looking for personally fulfilling opportunities to volunteer their time and expertise. Funds from this grant will provide two-years of pilot support to DataKind to provide a consistent revenue stream while it builds a client base of organizations and volunteers, develops a sustainable business model, and cultivates long-term funding sources.

    To launch DataKind, an organization to better connect data scientists with volunteer opportunities and encourage best data practices among nonprofits

    More
  • grantee: Rockefeller University
    amount: $1,000,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2012

    To support Jesse Ausubel's continued leadership on behalf of the Sloan Foundation of the Deep Carbon Observatory program initiated in 2009

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Jesse Ausubel

    To support Jesse Ausubel's continued leadership on behalf of the Sloan Foundation of the Deep Carbon Observatory program initiated in 2009

    More
  • grantee: Carnegie Institution of Washington
    amount: $2,250,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2012

    To support the Deep Carbon Observatory International Secretariat

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Robert Hazen

    This grant provides two years of core operating support to the Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO), headquartered at the Carnegie Institution of Washington. Funds will support the continued operation and activities of the DCO's governing secretariat and international steering committee, which is responsible for coordinating and synthesizing the individual initiatives pursued by the DCO's four scientific directorates. Though this grant, the Secretariat will pursue a diverse array of important goals, including further development of the organizational infrastructure of the DCO, strengthening the network of collaborating DCO institutions, overseeing the production of a "baseline report" that quantifies the current state of knowledge of deep earth carbon, managing a "launch" of the project aimed at major media and the public, securing matching gifts and other sources of funding for DCO activities, and developing a detailed vision for the final six years of the project.

    To support the Deep Carbon Observatory International Secretariat

    More
  • grantee: Richard Rhodes
    amount: $125,000
    city: Half Moon Bay, CA
    year: 2012

    To research and write a book about the development of medical and military technologies during the Spanish Civil War and the interconnections between art and technology

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Richard Rhodes

    To research and write a book about the development of medical and military technologies during the Spanish Civil War and the interconnections between art and technology

    More
  • grantee: Planetwork NGO, Inc.
    amount: $525,800
    city: San Francisco, CA
    year: 2012

    To develop and launch a system for web-scale annotation and review of online documents

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Dan Whaley

    In a conventional journal, the mechanisms for feedback on published articles are limited to a letter to the editor or direct correspondence with the author. As an increasing quantity and diversity of scholarly products are disseminated on the web, one could imagine much more efficient and constructively visible commenting mechanisms. Initial experiments in so-called "post-publication review," however, have fallen flat. Comment boxes on online articles and other research materials overwhelmingly lie empty. Perhaps comment boxes are the wrong tool. Rather than asking a reader to comment on a full article, a much more granular approach might fare better, allowing readers to comment on a particular point, equation, or assumption in a published work. Funds from this grant support the development of hypothes.is, a particularly promising effort to build precisely such a granular web annotation system. This one-year grant to Planetwork NGO will support the design, testing, and launch of hypothes.is, bringing an innovative new pilot platform to fruition that has the potential to reshape how researchers communicate and interact with one another and with online scholarly resources.

    To develop and launch a system for web-scale annotation and review of online documents

    More
  • grantee: Columbia University
    amount: $420,640
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2012

    To further develop RunMyCode, a platform that links data and code for real-time reproduction of published studies

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Victoria Stodden

    In March of 2012, Christophe Pйrignon and Christophe Hurlin unveiled RunMyCode (runmycode.org), a pilot platform for linking research datasets and code with scholarly articles. The site links published papers with a RunMyCode "companion website" that provides a real-time environment where researchers can rerun the computations reported in the paper and reproduce the experimental findings reported. Initially launched with 40 econometrics and finance papers, the platform is an innovative attempt to use the Web to enhance the reproducibility and verifiability -and thus the reliability-of scientific research. Funds from this grant support a project by Columbia University's Victoria Stodden, Chief Science Officer of RunMyCode, to expand and enhance the platform. Over 16 months, Stodden will test the RunMyCode model in a number of additional fields, including computational mathematics, statistics, and biostatistics. Stodden will also pilot integration with existing scholarly platforms, enabling researchers to discover relevant RunMyCode companion websites when looking at online articles, code repositories, or data archives. Additional funds support the development of a comprehensive business plan and funding strategy for RunMyCode.

    To further develop RunMyCode, a platform that links data and code for real-time reproduction of published studies

    More
  • grantee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    amount: $385,328
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2012

    To examine the impacts of online working paper repositories on the diffusion of scholarly ideas

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Erik Brynjolfsson

    Though working paper repositories have become integral to a number of fields, including high-energy physics and economics, the impact of working paper circulation on the actual practice and production of research is relatively unexplored. For example, does circulation of working papers on digital platforms actually improve the quality of the work, whether in revised drafts or in final published form? How do researchers decide what to spend time reading, given the lack of a referee system? Can usage data from working paper repositories predict ultimate publication in refereed journals and citation counts of articles after formal publication? Funds from this grant support a research project by Erik Brynjolfsson of MIT and his Ph.D. student Heekyung Kim aim to explore these and other questions using the Social Science Research Network (SSRN) as a case study. In order to isolate the impact of the circulation of research in working form, they will draw on SSRN's logs of web server traffic, working paper citation data, and full-text analysis of individual papers to compare the usage and citation of papers posted in bulk by departments as they join SSRN (which are often already published elsewhere) with that of papers that have evolved as working papers on SSRN in advance of publication. SSRN will also perform a randomized experiment of different search algorithms on the live site in order to better understand user discovery and filtering behavior. In addition to this research, grant funds will support a workshop to bring together publishers and platform developers with economists and other social scientists studying scholarly communication to discuss existing research findings and potential future collaborations in this area.

    To examine the impacts of online working paper repositories on the diffusion of scholarly ideas

    More
  • grantee: University of Tennessee
    amount: $273,130
    city: Knoxville, TN
    year: 2012

    To study assessments by academic researchers of the trustworthiness of diverse scholarly information sources and channels

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Carol Tenopir

    We know from server log analysis that a substantial and growing percentage of the readers of any online academic article arrive not because they are browsing a given journal or author, but through the results of a search query using a search engine like Google or Bing or Proquest. We know little, however, about how researchers decide which items in search results are worth reading or citing or about how these changing information discovery and consumption patterns influence the choice of where one publishes one's work. This grant supports work by David Nicholas and Carol Tenopir of the University of Tennessee to better understand the behavior of academics as both producers and consumers of scholarly literature, in particular the role that judgments of trust and quality play in choices of publication channel, citation, and time investment in reading new material. Nicholas and Tenopir have built a unique corpus of web usage data from a number of major publishers' online platforms, which they will mine for insights into user behavior. Patterns of behavior in that usage data will inform the design of a series of focus groups and a broad survey to investigate reading and dissemination channel choices, and a series of "critical incident reports" will drill deeply into the underlying motivations for citation by asking select authors to walk through the discovery of and rationale for each citation in their most recent paper's bibliography.

    To study assessments by academic researchers of the trustworthiness of diverse scholarly information sources and channels

    More
  • grantee: New York University
    amount: $473,567
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2012

    For screenwriting and production of science and technology films by top film students

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Sheril Antonio

    This grant provides three years of support to New York University's Maurice Kanbar Institute of Film & TV for its continuing efforts to provide opportunities for emerging filmmakers to work with practicing scientists, to incentivize these filmmakers to produce high-quality scripts that engage with scientific themes or topics, and to facilitate the development of those scripts into completed films. Grant funds will support an annual colloquium that brings together film students and working scientists, expert advisors to ensure the accuracy of scientific content, and a yearly awards program that provides development funds to student screenwriters and filmmakers who submit the most engaging, entertaining, and accurate scripts on scientific topics.

    For screenwriting and production of science and technology films by top film students

    More
  • grantee: University of Southern California
    amount: $358,350
    city: Los Angeles, CA
    year: 2012

    For screenwriting and production of science and technology films by top film students

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Alan Baker

    Funds from this grant support three innovative annual awards programs at the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts that urge students to write, direct, produce, and animate scripts that touch on scientific themes or feature scientists, mathematicians, or engineers as major characters. The first, aimed at student screenwriters, awards $15,000 to the best science-themed script submitted. The second provides $22,500 in production support to turn two compelling, accurate science-themed scripts into completed films. The third, aimed at animators, awards $15,000 in production support to a high-quality science themed animation project. Other grant funds support stipends for science advisors for student film projects to ensure the accuracy of scientific content, and for an annual science colloquium that educates students on exciting new scientific advances. Taken together, the USC program provides a rising generation of filmmakers with a powerful introduction to the narrative possibilities of merging science and film.

    For screenwriting and production of science and technology films by top film students

    More
  • grantee: University of Wisconsin, Madison
    amount: $633,044
    city: Madison, WI
    year: 2012

    To expand the scholarly understanding of effective teaching and learning in STEM fields, and of undergraduate student persistence in STEM majors, by a combination of surveys, interviews, and classroom observations of students and faculty at seven colleges

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Mark Connolly

    In the 1990s, the Foundation supported a project by Elaine Seymour and Nancy Hewitt of the University of Colorado, Boulder and Mark Connolly at the University of Wisconsin, Madison to conduct extensive ethnographies of students at seven selective colleges and universities to determine why majors in STEM fields switch majors for other areas. The results of their work, Talking About Leaving: Why Undergraduates Leave the Sciences, provides one of the most interesting, comprehensive accounts of what factors drive retention and attrition among undergraduates in STEM fields. Fifteen years later, Seymour endeavors to return to this issue, updating the findings original reported in Talking About Leaving and expanding her analysis to include examination of efforts by professors, departments, and school administrators to shrink attrition in STEM fields. Funds from this grant provide partial support to Seymour, her colleague Mark R. Connolly, and their team to conduct a series of new interviews at the same seven institutions sampled in Talking About Leaving and to support their subsequent analysis of the data they collect. Their efforts promise to provide new insights into what has changed and what has stayed the same when it comes to why undergraduates pursue or abandon STEM degrees.

    To expand the scholarly understanding of effective teaching and learning in STEM fields, and of undergraduate student persistence in STEM majors, by a combination of surveys, interviews, and classroom observations of students and faculty at seven colleges

    More
  • grantee: University of Colorado, Boulder
    amount: $666,956
    city: Boulder, CO
    year: 2012

    To expand the scholarly understanding of effective teaching and learning in STEM fields, and of undergraduate student persistence in STEM majors, by a combination of surveys, interviews, and classroom observations of students and faculty at seven colleges

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Anne-Barrie Hunter

    In the 1990s, the Foundation supported a project by Elaine Seymour and Nancy Hewitt of the University of Colorado, Boulder and Mark Connolly at the University of Wisconsin, Madison to conduct extensive ethnographies of students at seven selective colleges and universities to determine why majors in STEM fields switch majors for other areas. The results of their work, Talking About Leaving: Why Undergraduates Leave the Sciences, provides one of the most interesting, comprehensive accounts of what factors drive retention and attrition among undergraduates in STEM fields. Fifteen years later, Seymour endeavors to return to this issue, updating the findings original reported in Talking About Leaving and expanding her analysis to include examination of efforts by professors, departments, and school administrators to shrink attrition in STEM fields. Funds from this grant provide partial support to Seymour, her colleague Mark R. Connolly, and their team to conduct a series of new interviews at the same seven institutions sampled in Talking About Leaving and to support their subsequent analysis of the data they collect. Their efforts promise to provide new insights into what has changed and what has stayed the same when it comes to why undergraduates pursue or abandon STEM degrees.

    To expand the scholarly understanding of effective teaching and learning in STEM fields, and of undergraduate student persistence in STEM majors, by a combination of surveys, interviews, and classroom observations of students and faculty at seven colleges

    More
  • grantee: University of Colorado, Boulder
    amount: $292,000
    city: Boulder, CO
    year: 2012

    To examine how and why house-associated microbial communities vary across homes throughout the United States

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Noah Fierer

    This grant supports a team led Noah Fierer, associate professor at the University of Colorado; Rob Dunn, associate professor at North Carolina State; and Shelly Miller, an environmental engineer and associate professor at the University of Colorado to characterize the diversity of microbial communities in homes throughout the United States. Tapping a network of more than 6,500 volunteers across the U.S., Fierer and his team will collect information on volunteer homes and distribute "home sampling kits" which direct volunteers to collect swabs of the microbial populations living in four locations in the home: the outer door frame above the entrance to the residence, a door frame above an interior door, a kitchen countertop where food is prepared, and a pillowcase on a bed. As a complement to the larger study, the team will conduct a detailed study of the microbial populations in 50 homes in the Boulder, Colorado region, collecting microbial samples on multiple occasions and making a variety of building measurement, including humidity, temperature, and levels of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. Taken together, the two studies will permit the construction of what promises to be the most complete picture of how residential microbial communities differ across the United States and will provide a huge dataset that can be used to generate and test hypotheses on what factors drive the compositional diversity of microbial communities in the built environment.

    To examine how and why house-associated microbial communities vary across homes throughout the United States

    More
  • grantee: Cornell University
    amount: $200,000
    city: Ithaca, NY
    year: 2012

    To support a pilot study to characterize changes in indoor airborne microbiota of homes after weatherization

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Largus Angenent

    To date over 750,000 homes have been weatherized in the U.S. Department of Energy's Weatherization Assistance program to help homeowners make their homes more energy efficient. Some of the energy efficient upgrades-such as sealing ducts and installing more efficient windows-reduce the levels of ventilation in homes, resulting in changes that could influence the size, composition, location, or diversity of microbial communities inside the home. Funds from this grant support a two-year pilot study by Largus Angenent, associate professor in of biological and environmental engineering at Cornell University to investigate and characterize how weatherization changes in indoor airborne microbiota of homes. Angenent will study fifteen homes in the Finger Lakes region of New York State, sampling the air both inside and outside a home immediately before it is weatherized, directly after weatherization is completed, and again six months later. Analysis of the collected samples will provide preliminary data that suggest how weatherization changes microbial communities and, depending on results, could form the basis for further data collection and research by the U.S. Department of Energy or some other federal agency.

    To support a pilot study to characterize changes in indoor airborne microbiota of homes after weatherization

    More
  • grantee: National Opinion Research Center
    amount: $481,975
    city: Chicago, IL
    year: 2012

    To improve public understanding of aging and work, by increasing quality and quantity of coverage of the economics of the aging workforce

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Trevor Tompson

    This two-year grant supports a project by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) to enhance public understanding of the economic issues surrounding the older workforce. NORC will field a high-quality, nationally representative survey of older adults about the strategies they use when claiming Social Security benefits and distribute the results nationwide through a partnership with the Associated Press (AP). Survey reporting will be supplemented with reporting on new economic research about optimal retirement asset draw-down strategies and survey data will be made freely available to researchers in a public-use dataset. Additional funds from this grant will provide one year of salary support to a NORC-AP fellow who will cover the older workforce beat, producing thoughtful, high-quality articles on a variety of issues, including aging and work, retirement, flexible work arrangements for older workers, productivity, and the economic impact of an aging workforce on businesses, pensions, and government programs like Social Security.

    To improve public understanding of aging and work, by increasing quality and quantity of coverage of the economics of the aging workforce

    More
  • grantee: The New York Academy of Medicine
    amount: $594,898
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2012

    To experiment with the design and implement the Sloan Awards for an Age Friendly-Workplace in New York City

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Ruth Finkelstein

    Funds from this grant will support an initiative by the New York Academy of Medicine to design and launch an Age-Friendly Workplaces Award aimed at recognizing New York City employers with innovative hiring, employment, and retirement practices that maximize the potential of older workers. Employers from each of the city's five boroughs will be eligible, and winners will be selected by an independent panel of high profile business leaders. Grant funds will support awards for between five and ten New York City businesses from a diverse array of industries and sectors, a dedicated website that will describe the awards and allow businesses to share information about best workplace practices, a series of case studies that highlight specific strategies for tapping the potential of older workers, and a published Guide for Age-Friendly Employers that will summarize current findings on best older worker policies and practices. Additional funds will support a robust outreach and public relations efforts, and a public ceremony honoring the winners. The awards raise the visibility of older workers as active and productive members of the workforce and to engage the business community issues related to the older workforce through identifying best practices and local champions.

    To experiment with the design and implement the Sloan Awards for an Age Friendly-Workplace in New York City

    More
  • grantee: Southern Regional Education Board
    amount: $860,000
    city: Atlanta, GA
    year: 2012

    To increase the award of doctoral degrees to members of underrepresented minorities in STEM fields, with a special focus on the preparation of graduate students for careers in higher education

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Ansley Abraham

    Funds from this grant support the Institute on Teaching and Mentoring, an annual conference hosted by the Board of Control for Southern Regional Education, a 3.5-day professional development conference aimed at providing training, mentoring, career advice, and networking opportunities to African-American and Hispanic Ph.D. students. Funds will be used to support the organization of the conference for each of the next three years and to defray the costs of attendance by, program directors, faculty, and students involved in the Foundation's Minority Ph.D. program.

    To increase the award of doctoral degrees to members of underrepresented minorities in STEM fields, with a special focus on the preparation of graduate students for careers in higher education

    More
  • grantee: University of Michigan
    amount: $342,213
    city: Ann Arbor, MI
    year: 2012

    To develop and promote data-sharing standards in the social sciences

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Empirical Economic Research Enablers (EERE)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator George Alter

    Founded 50 years ago, the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) provides leadership and training in data access, curation, and methods of analysis for the social science research community. Over 700 institutions from all over the world belong to this consortium based at the University of Michigan, and its archives contain over 500,000 data files. This grant funds a project led by economic historian and ICPSR Director George Alter to help set standards and address challenges common to social science researchers who work with "big data." Grant funds will support three workshops that will aim to (1) develop consensus among social science journal editors about how to review, publish, and cite data; (2) develop common standards in a variety of scientific fields about how to archive data files and the "metadata" that describes them; and (3) develop a consensus among scientific grantmaking organizations about what data management standards should be imposed on grantees. Additional monies from this grant support a project to investigate the nondisclosure agreements (NDA) many social scientists sign in order to gain access to proprietary information and to explore the possibility of developing a common non-disclosure agreement on the model of the popular license developed by Creative Commons.

    To develop and promote data-sharing standards in the social sciences

    More
  • grantee: The Urban Institute
    amount: $270,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2012

    To improve the detail and utility of the Internal Revenue Service's public use files

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator James Nunns

    One of the few advantages of our complex tax code is that the information gathered can, in principle, provide researchers with accurate estimates of wages, investments, retirement savings, and many other economic variables. In practice, however, it is very hard for researchers to gain access to that information. Recognizing the demand for such data, the Internal Revenue Service has begun making more of its information available in aggregated tables and in de-identified compilations known as "Public Use Files." This two-year grant funds a project by the Tax Policy Center (TPC), a joint venture of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, to help make IRS data more useful to researchers, policymakers, and the public. Over the course of the next two years, researchers at the Tax Policy Center propose to add new information to existing IRS data offerings, including data about age, gender, and how joint earnings are split between couples. They will also develop new methodologies for estimating the characteristics of those who do not file taxes, allowing more robust conclusions to be drawn from IRS data. New data and methodologies will be developed and added in ways that protect taxpayer anonymity and privacy.

    To improve the detail and utility of the Internal Revenue Service's public use files

    More
  • grantee: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
    amount: $399,448
    city: Piscataway, NJ
    year: 2012

    To study pathways and patterns of course-taking and career development in science and technology

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Harold Salzman

    Casual discussions of the scientific and technical workforce often rely on a pipeline metaphor. In this picture, there is an ample supply of student interest to begin with, but leakage at critical junctures leaves only a trickle of graduates who actually pursue careers in STEM. The obvious remedy is to plug the leaks. But perhaps the "pipeline" theory is an easy but misleading oversimplification. This grant supports a project by Hal Salzman of Rutgers to investigate how various pathways can lead through the educational system to STEM careers. Using the Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B) compiled by the National Center for Education Statistics, Salzman and his team will analyze the complex ways that course-taking patterns relate to decisions about STEM majors and careers, including how students (a) use college as a period of exploration; (b) may benefit from majoring in STEM without pursuing a traditional STEM career; (c) can major in a non-STEM field but still do lots of science in classes or at work; (d) make choices that are influenced by both supply and demand variables; and (e) can thereby end up in scientific careers by way of nonlinear and nontraditional routes. The resulting picture, complemented by a series of interviews with students and site views to universities, promises to help build a more robust, nuanced of the myriad ways in which students may end up in scientific careers.

    To study pathways and patterns of course-taking and career development in science and technology

    More
  • grantee: International Association for Research in Income and Wealth
    amount: $140,000
    city: Ottawa, Canada
    year: 2012

    To study and share improvements for estimating gross domestic product

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Andrew Sharpe

    Gross domestic product (GDP) is the most important statistic in macroeconomics. As a measure of the value of goods and services produced within a country, GDP announcements can swing stock markets, political sentiments, business plans, and much else. Yet despite its importance, GDP figures--calculated in the U.S. by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) --are merely estimates and often subject to substantial subsequent revision. With businesses, politicians, and consumers making choices based on GDP data, however, such revisions can be costly. With so much at stake, the methodology for estimating GDP and similar statistics is the subject of constant scrutiny. This grant supports a major international conference about macroeconomic statistics to be held in August 2012. Conference participants will include a host of venerable research and government institutions, including the BEA, the International Monetary Fund, the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the National Bureau of Economic Research. Grant funds will offset conference costs, support the commissioning of papers for conference sessions on GDP revisions and new GDP data sources, and enable the publication of a selection of peer-reviewed papers from the conference.

    To study and share improvements for estimating gross domestic product

    More
  • grantee: Manhattan Theatre Club
    amount: $550,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2012

    To commission, develop, and produce science and technology plays

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Theater
    • Investigator Elizabeth Rothman

    This grant provides continuing support to an initiative at New York City's Manhattan Theatre Club to commission, produce, and promote new science-themed plays from emerging, midlevel, and established playwrights. Grant funds support a series of interrelated activities, including the commissioning of four new science-themed plays per year, public and private readings of scripts in progress, and an annual workshop.

    To commission, develop, and produce science and technology plays

    More
  • grantee: American Academy of Arts and Sciences
    amount: $250,000
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2012

    To provide further funding for the Global Nuclear Future Initiative

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Initiative Nuclear Nonproliferation
    • Investigator Steven Miller

    This grant supports activities in support of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences' (AAAS) Global Nuclear Future Initiative, an international effort that focuses on increasing the security of nuclear materials, strengthening the global nuclear regime, and solving the unresolved problem of what to do with spent nuclear reactor fuel. Led by Stephen Miller, Director of Harvard University's International Security Program, the project aims to build international consensus around a series of prescriptions for strengthening nuclear security, including principles governing the development of regional nuclear storage facilities; best practices governing contracts between suppliers, customers, and government entities; and the proper arrangements connecting nuclear fuel storage and disposal. Supported activities under this grant include the convening of regional meetings of key stakeholders in government, industry, and non-governmental organizations and the commissioning of conference presentations and publishable research papers by respected experts, academics, and practitioners in the field.

    To provide further funding for the Global Nuclear Future Initiative

    More
  • grantee: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
    amount: $400,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2012

    To encourage and facilitate understanding of how to distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate nuclear activity

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Initiative Nuclear Nonproliferation
    • Investigator George Perkovich

    The foundational treaty of the global nuclear order, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), does not define what constitutes a nuclear weapon and therefore what activities, technologies, and materials should be regarded as evidence that a state is seeking to acquire nuclear weapons. This lack of definition exacerbates the nonproliferation challenge of distinguishing between legitimate nuclear activities (be they peaceful or military applications such as naval propulsion) and illegitimate ones (namely, those oriented toward nuclear weapons). This challenge, in turn, exacerbates the difficulty of promoting the peaceful spread of nuclear energy while, at the same time, preventing weapons proliferation. This grant supports an initiative by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace to build an international consensus around how to distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate nuclear activity. The Carnegie team will convene policymakers, regulators, and technical personnel from the five permanent member countries of the UN Security Council - China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States - for a series of non-political meetings to discuss national perspectives on what constitutes illegitimate nuclear activity, weigh the costs and benefits of potential frameworks, and identify areas for further technical analysis.

    To encourage and facilitate understanding of how to distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate nuclear activity

    More
  • grantee: University of Oxford
    amount: $479,241
    city: Oxford, United Kingdom
    year: 2012

    To document the ways in which Big Data is made available from its public and private origins through open and closed pathways for social science research

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Eric Meyer

    Though few deny that administrative and other large-linked datasets represent new frontiers for social science research, there have been surprisingly few formal studies that survey and document how so-called "big data" in all its forms is actually changing social science research. This grant supports a project by a team led by Eric T. Meyer at Oxford's Internet Institute (OII) to empirically document the ways social scientists are getting access to data at scale and the tools they use to work with it. Meyer and his team will conduct a series of in-depth interviews with 125 researchers and technologists in academia, industry, and government to look at a series of interrelated questions about how big data is changing research, including how data flows between data sources and scientists, what questions big data is being used to address, how does the openness of a dataset affect its use, and how public and private data are used differently by researchers.

    To document the ways in which Big Data is made available from its public and private origins through open and closed pathways for social science research

    More
  • grantee: Duke University
    amount: $16,080
    city: Durham, NC
    year: 2012

    Conference on the history of the MIT Economics Department and its transformative role in post WWII Economics

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator E. Weintraub

    Conference on the history of the MIT Economics Department and its transformative role in post WWII Economics

    More
  • grantee: Library Foundation of Los Angeles
    amount: $100,000
    city: Los Angeles, CA
    year: 2012

    High leverage support to develop a pilot residency program for newly credentialed librarians into a national model for sustaining public libraries in the digital age

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Universal Access to Knowledge
    • Investigator Kenneth Brecher

    High leverage support to develop a pilot residency program for newly credentialed librarians into a national model for sustaining public libraries in the digital age

    More
  • grantee: Henry Petroski
    amount: $50,000
    city: Durham, NC
    year: 2012

    To research and write an illustrated book with photographs about the design and construction of a house, including discussion of its environmental, social, and cultural context

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Henry Petroski

    To research and write an illustrated book with photographs about the design and construction of a house, including discussion of its environmental, social, and cultural context

    More
  • grantee: Amir D. Aczel
    amount: $15,408
    city: Brookline, MA
    year: 2012

    To support the research of a book about scholar Georges Coedes' discovery of the origin of the concept of zero in Cambodia and its effect on our modern number system

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Amir Aczel

    To support the research of a book about scholar Georges Coedes' discovery of the origin of the concept of zero in Cambodia and its effect on our modern number system

    More
  • grantee: Jonathan Waldman
    amount: $50,000
    city: Boulder, CO
    year: 2012

    To support the research and writing of a book about rust and the engineering efforts required to combat it

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Jonathan Waldman

    To support the research and writing of a book about rust and the engineering efforts required to combat it

    More
  • grantee: Tom Shachtman
    amount: $30,000
    city: Salisbury, CT
    year: 2012

    For research support for a book "The Science of the Founding Fathers" on the role of science and technology in early America

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Tom Shachtman

    For research support for a book "The Science of the Founding Fathers" on the role of science and technology in early America

    More
  • grantee: Long Island University
    amount: $19,600
    city: Greenvale, NY
    year: 2012

    To provide an opportunity for various groups (faculty program directors, researchers, evaluators, sponsors, graduate students, and post?-doctorates) to interact on issues in theory, methodology, policy, and approaches for increasing participation in STEM

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Anthony DePass

    To provide an opportunity for various groups (faculty program directors, researchers, evaluators, sponsors, graduate students, and post?-doctorates) to interact on issues in theory, methodology, policy, and approaches for increasing participation in STEM

    More
  • grantee: Texas A&M University
    amount: $116,201
    city: College Station, TX
    year: 2012

    To support a pilot laboratory experimental study using MBA, MPA, and business students to assess the magnitude of age discrimination in the labor market at the resume stage of hiring

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Joanna Lahey

    To support a pilot laboratory experimental study using MBA, MPA, and business students to assess the magnitude of age discrimination in the labor market at the resume stage of hiring

    More
  • grantee: Washington University in St. Louis
    amount: $124,999
    city: St. Louis, MO
    year: 2012

    To develop and analyze theoretical models of the labor supply of married older workers

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Robert Pollak

    To develop and analyze theoretical models of the labor supply of married older workers

    More
  • grantee: George Washington University
    amount: $15,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2012

    To provide partial support for a conference to increase awareness about potential uses of new economic data sources available from federal, commercial, university, and non-profit data providers

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Andrew Reamer

    To provide partial support for a conference to increase awareness about potential uses of new economic data sources available from federal, commercial, university, and non-profit data providers

    More
  • grantee: Cell Motion Laboratories, Inc.
    amount: $20,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2012

    To support the BioBus, a state?-of-the?-art, fully mobile, research science lab, to visit K-12 schools and public science events in New York City

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Benjamin Dubin-Thaler

    To support the BioBus, a state?-of-the?-art, fully mobile, research science lab, to visit K-12 schools and public science events in New York City

    More
  • grantee: Technology Affinity Group
    amount: $5,000
    city: Wayne, PA
    year: 2012

    For 2012 Membership Dues

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Lisa Pool

    For 2012 Membership Dues

    More
  • grantee: Columbia University
    amount: $30,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2012

    To support a planning and proposal development workshop for a drilling project about ophiolite rocks important for the Deep Carbon Observatory

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Peter Kelemen

    To support a planning and proposal development workshop for a drilling project about ophiolite rocks important for the Deep Carbon Observatory

    More
  • grantee: Philanthropy New York
    amount: $28,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2012

    For general support in 2012

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Ronna Brown

    For general support in 2012

    More
  • grantee: Duke University
    amount: $125,000
    city: Durham, NC
    year: 2012

    To support the technical and organizational development of an altmetrics platform: Total-Impact

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Heather Piwowar

    To support the technical and organizational development of an altmetrics platform: Total-Impact

    More
  • grantee: The University of Chicago
    amount: $17,300
    city: Chicago, IL
    year: 2012

    To develop a sampling strategy for studying microbial and viral communities in a new hospital during the final months of construction and initial phase of operation

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Jack Gilbert

    To develop a sampling strategy for studying microbial and viral communities in a new hospital during the final months of construction and initial phase of operation

    More
  • grantee: Independent Sector
    amount: $17,500
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2012

    For general support

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Diana Aviv

    For general support

    More
  • grantee: University of Colorado, Denver
    amount: $325,900
    city: Denver, CO
    year: 2012

    To analyze the political coalitions seeking to influence shale gas development in the United States

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Initiative Shale Gas
    • Investigator Tanya Heikkila

    This grant to the University of Colorado at Denver supports efforts by Tanya Heikkila and Christopher Weible to study the politics of shale gas development in the United States. Using a wide-ranging series of interviews, Heikkila, Wieble and their team will construct a map of the political actors and influencers active in the recent development of the Marcellus, Barnett, and Mancos shale formations with the aim of understanding the politics of shale gas development. Issues to be addressed include how different interest groups frame the issue of shale gas development, how they use and deploy scientific information, what media and engagement strategies they use, and how they interact with other interest groups and with policymakers and to what effect. If successful, Hikkila and Weible's work could potentially lead to a deeper understanding of how the politics of shale gas development is evolving both nationally and regionally, an understanding that will be of value to all parties involved in shale gas development: industry, advocacy groups, regulators, policymakers, and the public.

    To analyze the political coalitions seeking to influence shale gas development in the United States

    More
  • grantee: Council on Library and Information Resources
    amount: $672,697
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2012

    To support the extension of the existing Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) postdoctoral program into digital curation in the sciences and social sciences

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Charles Henry

    Alongside data scientists trained in the statistical and computational methods that are integral to analysis of data at scale, there is a growing need for "digital curators," professional staff who can steward data, code, and other research products from the lab into more durable archives. Such digital curation is often discussed as one function of the future academic research library. Unfortunately, while many university libraries want to explore this new function, institutional inertia, tight budgets, and existing organizational structures have inhibited rapid change. Funds from this grant support a project by the Council on Library and Information Resources to expand its existing post-doctoral program to prepare recent science and social science Ph.D.s for positions in data curation. Grant monies will provide partial support for the development and training of a cohort of six postdoctoral students over two years. Supported students will be placed at university libraries where they will contribute to efforts to expand the institution's digital curation capabilities. Training activities funded under this grant include an initial "boot camp" that exposes participants to the current best practices in data curation, monthly professional development webinars, and an annual retreat.

    To support the extension of the existing Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) postdoctoral program into digital curation in the sciences and social sciences

    More
  • grantee: National Academy of Sciences
    amount: $160,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2012

    To support a study on the Future Career Opportunities and Educational Requirements for Digital Curation

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Paul Uhlir

    This grant provides partial support for data collection, production, and distribution of a study by the National Research Council on the training of professionals in data curation. Convening a high caliber group of scientists, technologists, educators, and university administrators, the Academy will study a handful of pioneering programs around the country that have developed curricula for training students in data curation and synthesize these curricula into a set of best practices with an eye toward preparing students for the specific data curation needs of researchers in the natural and social sciences. In addition, the report will focus on quantifying future need for data curation as a profession. The report promises to provide a blueprint for other U.S. colleges and universities who wish to begin their own programs to meet the growing need for qualified, well-trained professionals with expertise in stewarding, archiving, and maintaining data.

    To support a study on the Future Career Opportunities and Educational Requirements for Digital Curation

    More
  • grantee: Carnegie Institution of Washington
    amount: $1,000,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2012

    To continue to spur development of instruments needed for the success of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Robert Hazen

    The cooperative, international Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO) aims to examine the forms, volumes, and movements of carbon deep in the Earth at an unprecedented scale as well as in unprecedented detail. Success within this decade requires not only new samples, but also new ways of sampling and instruments variously more sensitive, smaller, larger, more robust, and less susceptible to contamination. This grant to the Deep Carbon Observatory headquarters at the Carnegie Institution of Washington provides funds to help develop four pioneering instruments and to conduct three "sandpit" exercises to spur development of several more. "Sandpit" is a term popularized in recent years to describe team?oriented workshops with a specific, collective problem?solving goal and some funds to follow through. The four proposed instruments are the following: a combined instrument for molecular imaging in geochemistry to measure trace amounts of carbon in lower mantle or core mineral phases and transform our estimates of the global carbon budget; a quantum cascade laser-infrared absorption spectrometer for clumped methane isotope thermometry to explore methane formation temperatures; a large-volume diamond anvil cell to explore material properties at very high pressure that have been examined before only in tiny volumes; and an ultrafast laser spectrometer to assess thermodynamic properties, reaction mechanisms, and kinetics of carbon processes at conditions of deep pressure and high temperature. The three sandpit exercises would address high-pressure, high-temperature bioreactors; use of remote sensing (for example, to measure outgassing from volcanoes); and computational resources and software.

    To continue to spur development of instruments needed for the success of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    More
  • grantee: Harvard University
    amount: $1,058,994
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2012

    To help social science journals process and publish the data associated with research articles

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Gary King

    According to a 2011 survey by Philip Glandon, only 35 percent of the 20 most cited journals in the field of economics have policies requiring as a condition of publication that authors make the data they use in their papers available to others. This is worrying, since empirical research requires quality control and lots of checking. Without access to the primary data a researcher works with, the larger economic community is unable to replicate her results, evaluate her faithfulness to her methodology, or re-use her data for other projects. What's worse, compliance is spotty even at those journals that do require authors post their research data, with fewer than half of all authors publishing the required datafiles. And when authors do make their data available, the files they post are often useless, since there are no discipline-wide standards governing what should be posted, what metadata should be included, or how programming code, procedural records, or explanations should appear. Funds from this grant support a project by Peter King to develop a software platform that has the potential to ameliorate some of these difficulties. King has developed the DataVerse Network, a platform specifically for publishing, sharing, referencing and analyzing social science datasets. With Sloan support, King will create a pilot platform that will allow participating journal editors to use the DataVerse Network in their article evaluation process, giving authors a uniform, standards-based capacity to upload and store research data, which can then be used both by editors and reviewers as an article moves through the publication process, and which will subsequently be available to the wider scientific community post-publication. The project represents a promising avenue in which information technology may help transform for the better scholarly communication.

    To help social science journals process and publish the data associated with research articles

    More
  • grantee: University of California, San Diego
    amount: $214,720
    city: La Jolla, CA
    year: 2012

    To support a network of practitioners working to transform scholarly communication via online community-building and a "Beyond the PDF 2" workshop

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Philip Bourne

    In early 2011, computational biologist Phil Bourne hosted a meeting at University of California, San Diego (UCSD) titled "Beyond the PDF," which brought together the emerging community of researchers, librarians, publishers, and developers who are rethinking scholarly communication in the sciences. The primary focus of the agenda was a discussion of the future shape of scientific articles. Presentations ranged from models for data or software publication to so-called "executable" papers, in which results are not simply described but are actually computed on the fly in live, adjustable figures. The initial "Beyond the PDF" meeting was unusually productive, bringing together a group of stakeholders to think creatively about scientific communication, and forming a nascent community that has continued to develop through a series of international conversations throughout the year. Funds from this grant support a second "Beyond the PDF" workshop, to be held in the summer of 2011. Support includes funds for agenda development and planning, as well as monies to hire a full-year staff member to focus on providing services to the growing community of scientists and technologists focused on thinking seriously and imaginatively about the future of scholarly communication.

    To support a network of practitioners working to transform scholarly communication via online community-building and a "Beyond the PDF 2" workshop

    More
  • grantee: Sloan Projects LLC
    amount: $350,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2012

    To provide co-funding for a theatrical film about Stanley Milgram intended for distribution in all media, including a television broadcast

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Ted Hope

    The grant provides partial support for the production and release of a feature film on the life and work of social scientist Stanley Milgram, the researcher made famous through a series of shocking experiments that tested individuals' propensity to defer to authority, even when deference entailed the performance of ethically suspect actions. The screenplay, written by Michael Almareyda, will be produced by Ted Hope, producer of In the Bedroom, The Ice Storm, The Brothers McMullen, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and Savages and will focus on taking a wider view of Milgram's life and work, placing his obedience experiments in the context of his larger research program and providing a more expansive perspective on his contributions to science and culture. Funds will provide general support, as well as monies to ensure a qualified science advisor to ensure the accuracy of the film's scientific content.

    To provide co-funding for a theatrical film about Stanley Milgram intended for distribution in all media, including a television broadcast

    More
  • grantee: National Academy of Sciences
    amount: $200,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2012

    To sustain and strengthen the role of the Science and Entertainment Exchange--and of science and technology--in Hollywood

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Barbara Pope

    Launched in 2009 by the National Academy of Sciences, the Science and Entertainment Exchange is a program that seeks to enhance and improve the scientific content of film and television through connecting writers, producers, directors, and other entertainment industry professionals with top research scientists and engineers. To date the Exchange has consulted on over 400 film and television projects, including big-budget film productions like Apollo 18, Battleship, Iron Man 2, and Green Lantern and hit television programs like Castle, House, The Good Wife, and Covert Affairs. It also sponsors salons and panel discussions, bringing together industry insiders and scientists. Funds from this two-year grant provide core support for the Science and Entertainment Exchange, allowing it to reach out to more individuals, studios, networks, and guilds; to target television more aggressively; to expand its database of current science experts and add new scientific fields that are not currently represented; to improve publicity around major releases of films and TV; and to expand its presence and impact on the web and in social media.

    To sustain and strengthen the role of the Science and Entertainment Exchange--and of science and technology--in Hollywood

    More
  • grantee: University of Colorado, Boulder
    amount: $187,237
    city: Boulder, CO
    year: 2012

    To create a 3D map of the "Microbially Visible Home" that includes both architectural components and microbial data

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Robin Knight

    This grant to architect Rob Van Pelt and biologist Rob Knight will support a one-year project to create a "proof of concept" detailed 3D map of the "Microbially Visible Home." This map will include both the architectural components and microbial data of a single house and will bring together building scientists, software developers, and microbiologists to create an easily interpretable and visual 3D model. Partnering with Autodesk, a world leader in 3D design software for manufacturing, buildings, construction, engineering, and entertainment, Van Pelt, Knight and their team will conduct dense sampling of homes near Toronto, collecting and analyzing nearly 1,000 samples for bacteria and fungi and using this data to build a biological data layer on top of Autodesk's Building Information Model, a computable representation of a facility that integrates a wide range of building features and functions, including architectural characteristics, materials, relationships, sensor data, and performance metrics. The result will be the creation of a detailed 3D building map with both the architectural components and the microbial data. It will make the invisible microbial world of one home visible. This new tool will help scientists develop exploratory hypotheses about why microbes live in the locations that they do.

    To create a 3D map of the "Microbially Visible Home" that includes both architectural components and microbial data

    More
  • grantee: University of Puerto Rico
    amount: $600,000
    city: San Juan, PR
    year: 2012

    To examine the microbiomes of homes across cultures

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Maria Dominguez-Bello

    We know there are microbes in homes. We know there are microbes in and on people. Are the microbes of homes and their inhabitants the same? Funds from this grant support a two-year project by microbiologist Maria Gloria Domнnguez-Bello, architect Humberto Cavallin, and colleagues at the University of Puerto Rico to collect and analyze microbial samples from homes and their inhabitants in a variety of cultural settings. The team plans to collect samples from traditional dwellings in remote villages in the Amazon as well as more modern rural and urban homes in New York City and South America. The homes in the Amazon villages are round huts constructed of natural materials without windows, closets, or furniture. The inhabitants of these homes have had very little exposure to modern life. The rural homes are far more advanced. They have two or three bedrooms and electricity, but do not necessarily have running water. Each room has a door and window with modest furniture and natural or forced ventilation using fans but no air conditioning. The urban homes are the most advanced and generally have air conditioning. In each home, the team will collect and analyze samples from the home as well as from the human and animal inhabitants. This project promises to generate important new knowledge about the microbiology of homes across cultures as well as shed some light on the relationship between the microbiomes of the home and its inhabitants.

    To examine the microbiomes of homes across cultures

    More
  • grantee: Council of Graduate Schools
    amount: $400,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2012

    To enhance the skills of future faculty in the assessment of student learning in STEM fields

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Daniel Denecke

    This three-year grant supports the launch of a major initiative by the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) to assist graduate students to gain knowledge in the assessment of student learning, both for the improvement of their own course-based teaching and for the reflective analysis of student learning outcomes at the level of a program or major. Partnering with five universities, CGS will partner with five universities to develop programs aimed at training graduate students in the best practices for assessing student learning and in implementing these practices in their courses, with special attention paid to large "gateway" science and math courses with high student attrition. Grant funds will also support three annual meetings and 2 summer workshops where learning assessment will be discussed, and a web-based clearinghouse for resources on the topic.

    To enhance the skills of future faculty in the assessment of student learning in STEM fields

    More
  • grantee: National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, Inc.
    amount: $3,458,800
    city: White Plains, NY
    year: 2012

    To fund obligations in the Minority Ph.D. program and the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership for the cohort named from July 1, 2012 to July 1, 2013

    • Program Higher Education
    • Initiative Minority Ph.D.
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Aileen Walter

    The National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME) has been the Foundation's longtime partner in its grantmaking in the Education for Underrepresented Groups program, administering both the Sloan Minority Ph.D. program and the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership. NACME receives applications from 53 departments at the 34 universities participating in these programs, selects students for scholarships, administers awards, and supports recruitment efforts by faculty. The grant funds new obligations in these programs for the 2012-2013 academic year, including scholarships, recruiting support, and administrative costs.

    To fund obligations in the Minority Ph.D. program and the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership for the cohort named from July 1, 2012 to July 1, 2013

    More
  • grantee: University of Michigan
    amount: $584,817
    city: Ann Arbor, MI
    year: 2012

    To advance measurement of income, spending, assets and debt by creating and analyzing a new database of high-quality, daily data on actual transactions and account balances of individuals

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Matthew Shapiro

    The grants funds a project by a team led by University of Michigan economist Matthew Shapiro, who will analyze an exciting new dataset to glean insights about the economic behavior of older Americans. Shapiro and his team will analyze member data provided by Pageonce, a firm that has developed a mobile phone app that lets users pay bills online as well as integrate disparate bank accounts, credit card balances, and investment accounts all in one place. Analyzing the Pageonce data, the team will focus on what it can tell us about how older workers spend and save, how they handle debt, and how saving and consumption decisions change after retirement.

    To advance measurement of income, spending, assets and debt by creating and analyzing a new database of high-quality, daily data on actual transactions and account balances of individuals

    More
  • grantee: RAND Corporation
    amount: $544,638
    city: Santa Monica, CA
    year: 2012

    To improve our understanding of the role of local labor demand in affecting the work and retirement patterns of older Americans

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Nicole Maestas

    Funds from this grant support the work of Nichole Maestas of the Rand Corporation, who is studying how changes in labor demand affects the employment outcomes of older workers. In earlier work, Maestas has catalogued how older workers often "unretire", re-entering the workforce after a previous exit. Some 60 percent of such workers who unretire end up changing occupations, moving from managerial and professional work to positions in sales, administration, and service provision, positions that are often part-time or offer more flexible scheduling opportunities. Maestas will look at existing datasets to understand the extent to which this phenomenon can be explained by changes in the labor demand for such positions, looking at how growth in industries with large proportions of sales, administrative or service jobs, and the subsequent increase in the demand for workers to fill these jobs, explains employment outcomes for older workers.

    To improve our understanding of the role of local labor demand in affecting the work and retirement patterns of older Americans

    More
  • grantee: University of Michigan
    amount: $384,514
    city: Ann Arbor, MI
    year: 2012

    To generate experimental evidence about the obstacles that older workers face as they seek reemployment after long periods of unemployment

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Daniel Silverman

    Fewer than a quarter of workers age 50 and older who lost their jobs between mid-2008 and the end of 2009 found work within 12 months, a rate much lower than for younger workers in similar circumstances. What explains this? Is it age discrimination? Bias against time spent unemployed? Local labor market conditions? This grant supports efforts by three labor economists, Daniel Silverman of the University of Michigan, Henry Farber of Princeton, and Till von Wachter of Columbia, to partly answer these questions by conducting a unique experiment that may advance our understanding of how the prospects of older worker re-employment are affected by time unemployed, tightness of local labor markets, and differences in job history. Silverman and the rest of the team will send out to employers some 12,000 pairs of job applications for a mythical unemployed older worker. The faux applications will be identical except for the length of time the applicant has been unemployed, and Silverman and his team will subsequently record the rate at which the applications receive a positive callback from employers, allowing them to estimate how the duration of unemployment affects the possibility of being re-hired. The team will field applications in a number of different labor markets, and will vary the job histories of applicants, which should yield additional insights into how labor market conditions and prior work experience affect the re-employment aspects of workers over 50.

    To generate experimental evidence about the obstacles that older workers face as they seek reemployment after long periods of unemployment

    More
  • grantee: Dartmouth College
    amount: $1,199,471
    city: Hanover, NH
    year: 2012

    To increase understanding of how recessions, including the Great Recession, affect the labor market activities and retirement of older Americans

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Alan Gustman

    How do recessions in general, and the Great Recession in particular, impact older workers? Are older workers more or less likely to be laid off in recessions? If they are laid off, how long are they out of the labor force and are they eventually able to find new jobs? If they find new jobs, are they at the same or substantially lower pay? To what extent are unemployed older Americans effectively forced into early retirement? These are important questions that have real economic consequences for a significant portion of the labor market. This grant to Dartmouth College supports a project by Alan Gustman, Tom Steinmeier, and Nahid Tabatabai, to specify and estimate a structural retirement model to answer questions about how recessions, including the Great Recession of 2007-2009, affect the labor market activities and retirement of the older population, aged 50 and above. Working with data from the highly-regarded, longitudinal Health and Retirement Study, Gustman and his team will analyze the direct effects of recessions on work responses to layoffs and reduced market activities, as well as indirect effects from wealth losses and induced changes in health and disability status. Factors to be included in their analysis include changes in wealth, incentives from pensions and Social Security, spousal behavior, and the influence of key regulatory policies, including unemployment insurance, disability insurance, and the early claiming of Social Security benefits.

    To increase understanding of how recessions, including the Great Recession, affect the labor market activities and retirement of older Americans

    More
  • grantee: National Public Radio, Inc.
    amount: $890,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2012

    To enhance business and economics coverage on Planet Money and to fund a one-year pilot to expand multimedia storytelling at the Science Desk

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Radio
    • Investigator Kinsey Wilson

    Funds from this grant to National Public Radio will support the expansion and improvement of business and economics coverage on Planet Money. Supported activities include the hiring of new Planet Money staff, production of twice monthly segments on economic issues for both Morning Edition and All Things Considered, two of NPR's most popular shows, and the creation of a set of "explainers" that explicate key economic concepts like inflation and GDP. Additional monies will support the expansion of Planet Money's online activities and outreach, funding the creation of a Planet Money iPhone and iPad app, and allowing the creation of a multimedia content team that will focus on bringing Planet Money stories to an online audience. Additional funds from this grant provide core support to the NPR science desk.

    To enhance business and economics coverage on Planet Money and to fund a one-year pilot to expand multimedia storytelling at the Science Desk

    More
  • grantee: National Opinion Research Center
    amount: $666,440
    city: Chicago, IL
    year: 2012

    To conduct an inventory of the university programs associated with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's Minority Ph.D. program for underrepresented minority graduate students, and to survey program participants

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Raymond Lodato

    This grant will fund a project by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) to evaluate the impact of the Foundation's Minority Ph.D. program. NORC will survey faculty at all 53 departments participating in the Minority Ph.D. program as well as all currently-enrolled graduate students supported through the program, and will attempt to track down and survey every former participant of these departments (whether with Ph.D. in hand or not) to determine what they did after their first job and where they are now. NORC will also track and survey Sloan-funded Ph.D. recipients from departments that once but no longer participate in the Minority Ph.D. program. NORC will then analyze these surveys to provide a complete picture of the career outcomes of all Ph.D. graduates who had received some part of their fellowship funding from Sloan. The output of this project will contribute to the evaluation of and improvements to the structure and performance of the Minority Ph.D. program.

    To conduct an inventory of the university programs associated with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's Minority Ph.D. program for underrepresented minority graduate students, and to survey program participants

    More
  • grantee: National Geographic Society
    amount: $1,500,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2012

    To provide partial funding for a television documentary, 3D feature film, 3D Giant Screen film, educational resources, and digital outreach focused on James Cameron's historic dive and scientific expedition to the deepest part of the ocean

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Television
    • Investigator Terry Garcia

    In March of 2003, director and longtime diving enthusiast James Cameron piloted a specially designed submarine, the Deepsea Challenger, to the bottom of the Mariana Trench - the deepest point in the ocean, becoming only the second man in history to make the journey. Spending some nine hours at the bottom of the ocean, Cameron captured the entire incredible journey on film, including never before seen images the trench floor. Funds from this grant will support the production of three separate media projects related to Cameron's pioneering dive, a 90-minute 3D feature film, a two-hour television documentary, and a 40-minute 3D film designed for oversized screens. Additional funds will support the production of educational resources to complement the film's scientific content, as well as digital and media outreach activities.

    To provide partial funding for a television documentary, 3D feature film, 3D Giant Screen film, educational resources, and digital outreach focused on James Cameron's historic dive and scientific expedition to the deepest part of the ocean

    More
  • grantee: WGBH Educational Foundation
    amount: $1,000,000
    city: Boston, MA
    year: 2012

    For production and broadcast of a three-hour NOVA special on the geological history of North America with enhanced digital content, outreach, education, and promotion

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Television
    • Investigator Paula Apsell

    This grant supports the production of a three-hour NOVA special, Making of North America, which takes a unique "biographical" approach to communicating facts about the geological and geographic history of the continent. Making of North America will put to use the work of two new graphics projects, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Transparent Earth and Time Tunnel, to take the audience on a three-billion year adventure and "detective story." Scientists on the program will try to solve mysteries such as what is raising the Rockies and what is fueling the "hot spot" in the middle of the continent while taking a fresh look at landmarks like the Grand Canyon. The three hours will include a first program, Primeval Forces; a second hour, The Birth of North America; and a final show, The Human Landscape. The series will be augmented with enhanced digital content, most notably a mobile interactive map available on multiple platforms and a Google Earth tour. Funds will also support the development of a suite of teaching resources and a science cafй toolkit to attract younger audiences.

    For production and broadcast of a three-hour NOVA special on the geological history of North America with enhanced digital content, outreach, education, and promotion

    More
  • grantee: New York Genome Center, Inc.
    amount: $3,000,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2012

    To provide partial support for the New York Genome Center

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Robert Darnell

    Funds from this grant provide operational support for the launch of the New York Genome Center, a pioneering New York City-based research facility that will conduct both its own genomic research as well as provide genetic sequencing, analysis, and other services to research institutions in the New York metropolitan area. A model in collaborative research, the center will allow participating institutions to have access to first class genomic analysis capabilities without having to buy and maintain their own equipment, rent lab space, and retain expensive staff. Eleven of the City's most prominent research institutions have signed on to the effort, including Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory; Columbia, Cornell, and NYU; and Memorial Sloan Kettering, New York Presbyterian, and Mount Sinai School of Medicine among others. The development of a major new research center promises to catapult New York into the center of the dynamic and rapidly growing field of genomics.

    To provide partial support for the New York Genome Center

    More
  • grantee: Harvard University
    amount: $293,250
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2012

    To create and deploy a Laboratory for Online Research in Economics

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Erez Lieberman Aiden

    Many seminal experiments in behavioral economics have been performed using small groups of undergraduates at elite universities as subjects. Drawing robust scientific conclusions from these experiments is difficult. Student test subjects are, in general, whiter, richer, younger, and more American than the world populace taken as a whole. In addition, the campus laboratories that conduct such experiments are expensive to run, limiting the number of students that can be tested. Given the new possibilities opened up by the advent of the Internet, there should be easier ways to gather behavioral data using large numbers of participants from all over the world. This grant supports a project by Harvard's Erez Liberman Aiden to develop a user-friendly platform for creating, performing, and tracking large-scale economic experiments online. Called the "Laboratory for Online Research in Economics" (LORE), the platform will invite online visitors to participate in economic experiments, beginning in with classic "matrix games" such as the Prisoners' Dilemma or the Public Goods game and eventually expanding to include auction and market simulations with complex matching protocols and population structures. Harvard has funded the creation of a preliminary version of the LORE platform. Funds from this grant would pay for hardware, the hiring of a programmer, and provision of player incentives.

    To create and deploy a Laboratory for Online Research in Economics

    More
  • grantee: Stanford University
    amount: $386,574
    city: Stanford, CA
    year: 2012

    To study internet markets using detailed data about consumer and firm behavior from eBay

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Jonathan Levin

    Funds from this grant support the work of Stanford economists Jonathan Levin and Liran Einay, who have obtained unprecedented access to a massive dataset on consumer behavior data collected by the internet retailing giant and auction site eBay. The eBay data is a goldmine of information containing records of hundreds of millions of transactions over ten years, including the histories of every seller, details on every item ever listed on the site, and records of every click made by site users. Grant monies will support Levin and Einay's work analyzing this data, which will initially focus on three distinct issues: how buyer and seller behavior have changed over time particularly with regard to auctions; how to model seller learning; and the impact of changes in online sales taxes on buyer and seller behavior. The depth and richness of the dataset they will be analyzing promises to shed new light on our understanding of what happens when people go shopping.

    To study internet markets using detailed data about consumer and firm behavior from eBay

    More
  • grantee: University of Michigan
    amount: $19,475
    city: Ann Arbor, MI
    year: 2012

    To partially support a workshop on the academic study of knowledge infrastructures

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Paul Edwards

    To partially support a workshop on the academic study of knowledge infrastructures

    More
  • grantee: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
    amount: $20,000
    city: Cold Spring Harbor, NY
    year: 2012

    To create a model of the future scientific research library based on discussions of researcher needs and best practices of libraries throughout the world

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Ludmila Pollock

    To create a model of the future scientific research library based on discussions of researcher needs and best practices of libraries throughout the world

    More
  • grantee: Ezus Lyon
    amount: $50,000
    city: Villeurbanne, France
    year: 2012

    For partial support of a workshop on serpentinization, a process crucial in understanding Earth's deep carbon cycle

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Isabelle Daniel

    For partial support of a workshop on serpentinization, a process crucial in understanding Earth's deep carbon cycle

    More
  • grantee: American Sociological Association
    amount: $5,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2012

    To establish a common standard for tracking demographic data and measuring the process and outcome of diversity?-enhancing programs in the sciences

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Sally Hillsman

    To establish a common standard for tracking demographic data and measuring the process and outcome of diversity?-enhancing programs in the sciences

    More
  • grantee: Algebra Project, Inc.
    amount: $120,324
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2012

    To develop a new method of evaluating students' understanding of mathematics and conduct a pilot evaluation of the pedagogical strategies used in the Center for Mathematical Talent materials

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Benjamin Moynihan

    To develop a new method of evaluating students' understanding of mathematics and conduct a pilot evaluation of the pedagogical strategies used in the Center for Mathematical Talent materials

    More
  • grantee: American Association for the Advancement of Science
    amount: $124,996
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2012

    To recruit, train, and celebrate US teams to compete in the Pan-African and Ibero-American Mathematics Olympiads

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Florence Fasanelli

    To recruit, train, and celebrate US teams to compete in the Pan-African and Ibero-American Mathematics Olympiads

    More
  • grantee: University of British Columbia
    amount: $20,000
    city: Vancouver, BC, Canada
    year: 2012

    To accelerate the rate of exploration, adaptation and effective integration of methods of instruction that better support improved student learning, with a focus on undergraduate STEM education

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Lorne Whitehead

    To accelerate the rate of exploration, adaptation and effective integration of methods of instruction that better support improved student learning, with a focus on undergraduate STEM education

    More
  • grantee: The Wolfram Foundation
    amount: $123,453
    city: Champaign, IL
    year: 2012

    To prototype part of a Mathematical Heritage Library by constructing and demonstrating a computable database concerned with continued fractions

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Michael Trott

    To prototype part of a Mathematical Heritage Library by constructing and demonstrating a computable database concerned with continued fractions

    More
  • grantee: Institute for New Economic Thinking
    amount: $24,300
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2012

    To support the participation of students in a major international conference on new economic thinking

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Robert Johnson

    To support the participation of students in a major international conference on new economic thinking

    More
  • grantee: Benbough Operating Foundation
    amount: $20,000
    city: San Diego, CA
    year: 2012

    Support for a branded DPLA reception and a keynote address that will expose the community of digital cultural heritage professionals to the DPLA project at the WebWise conference

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Universal Access to Knowledge
    • Investigator Rich Cherry

    Support for a branded DPLA reception and a keynote address that will expose the community of digital cultural heritage professionals to the DPLA project at the WebWise conference

    More
  • grantee: National Geographic Society
    amount: $125,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2012

    To design a digital and media outreach plan around James Cameron's deep dive to the Marianna Trenches

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Terry Garcia

    To design a digital and media outreach plan around James Cameron's deep dive to the Marianna Trenches

    More
  • grantee: University of California, San Diego
    amount: $25,000
    city: La Jolla, CA
    year: 2012

    To provide partial support for the 2012 Sloan-Swartz Annual Meeting on Computational Neuroscience

    • Program Science
    • Investigator Terrence Sejnowski

    To provide partial support for the 2012 Sloan-Swartz Annual Meeting on Computational Neuroscience

    More
  • grantee: American Society for Microbiology
    amount: $81,905
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2012

    To support a colloquium on the microbiology of the drinking water distribution system

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Ann Reid

    To support a colloquium on the microbiology of the drinking water distribution system

    More
  • grantee: Mozilla Foundation
    amount: $124,625
    city: Mountain View, CA
    year: 2012

    To prototype online resources to teach software engineering best practices to scientists, and to explore and develop models for training within academic institutions

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Matthew Thompson

    To prototype online resources to teach software engineering best practices to scientists, and to explore and develop models for training within academic institutions

    More
  • grantee: George Washington University
    amount: $19,972
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2012

    To identify key data sources and plan two conferences on a future research agenda for student learning, persistence, and success, with a special focus on underrepresented minorities and women, in STEM postsecondary education

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Michael Feuer

    To identify key data sources and plan two conferences on a future research agenda for student learning, persistence, and success, with a special focus on underrepresented minorities and women, in STEM postsecondary education

    More
  • grantee: St. Olaf College
    amount: $19,500
    city: Northfield, MN
    year: 2011

    To develop a new community of practice on evidenced? based design for the planning of undergraduate learning spaces

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Jeanne Narum

    To develop a new community of practice on evidenced? based design for the planning of undergraduate learning spaces

    More
  • grantee: East Carolina University
    amount: $1,499,989
    city: Greenville, NC
    year: 2011

    To develop the Deep Carbon Observatory's Deep Life Directorate

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Matthew Schrenk

    Established in June 2009, the Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO) aims to address two fundamental issues: the origins, abundance, and distribution of hydrocarbons (including so-called fossil fuels) and the origins of life, for which carbon is the key element. The DCO has organized itself into four "directorates", each tasked with executing a different element of the DCO's ambitious research agenda. In October 2010, the Foundation supported the launch of the DCO's first directorate, on deep life. Funds from this two-year grant will provide support for the continuation and expansion of this directorate's research agenda. The overarching theme of the Deep Life Directorate is understanding microbial transformations in rock-hosted deep subsurface habitats. Over the next two years, researchers organized by the directorate plan to survey the extent and diversity of subsurface microbial communities, catalogue microbial activities relative to their environmental context, and identify relationships between deep subsurface microbial processes and carbon fluxes. Several innovative approaches are planned. For example, Deep Life researchers will lower incubation chambers filled with pre-characterized mineral substrates into boreholes and fracture systems and then observe and measure what ensues. In surface labs, researchers will examine cells that tolerate temperatures above 100 degrees centigrade and pressures approaching 20,000 atmospheres.

    To develop the Deep Carbon Observatory's Deep Life Directorate

    More
  • grantee: Tribeca Film Institute
    amount: $749,990
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2011

    To develop new science and technology films for production and to showcase science and technology films and hold panels and readings at Tribeca

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Beth Janson

    Funds from this grant provide two years of funding to the Tribeca Film Institute for its ongoing efforts to support films and filmmakers that explore scientific and technological themes. With Sloan Foundation support, the Institute will annually award up to $140,000, in grants from $10,000 to $40,000, to compelling narrative filmmaking that explores scientific, mathematical, and technological themes and storylines, or that features a leading character who is a scientist, engineer, innovator or mathematician. In addition to such financial support, Tribeca provides selected filmmakers with professional guidance and mentorship, including project notes, networking assistance, and exposure to financing and distribution executives. Funds from this grant also support a series of high profile events at the Tribeca Film Festival, including a screening and discussion series, readings of in-progress scripts exploring scientific and technological themes, and an awards ceremony and reception honoring winning filmmakers.

    To develop new science and technology films for production and to showcase science and technology films and hold panels and readings at Tribeca

    More
  • grantee: Coolidge Corner Theatre Foundation
    amount: $463,426
    city: Brookline, MA
    year: 2011

    To support Coolidge Corner Theatre's Science on Screen series and expand it with small grants to 40 theaters nationwide

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Denise Kasell

    In 2010, the Foundation supported a pilot program based at the Coolidge Corner Theatre to support film screenings and subsequent science discussions at art house theaters across the country. That effort, Science on Screen, was successfully piloted at eight independent theaters across the country. Funds from this grant will enable the series to be expanded to include up to 40 theaters over the next two years. Coolidge will prepare a syllabus that includes film programming suggestions, speakers, case studies, and marketing and outreach guidelines and will conduct a major outreach seminar at the Art House Convergence, the largest gathering of art house cinema managers in the country, which convenes annually just before the Sundance Film Festival. Independent theaters who successfully apply to be part of the Coolidge effort will receive $7,000 stipends to help create their own Science on Screen series, which must include a minimum of three screenings or science-themed events during the year. In addition, Coolidge will coordinate a national Science on Screen day, organizing same-day screenings at all participating theaters.

    To support Coolidge Corner Theatre's Science on Screen series and expand it with small grants to 40 theaters nationwide

    More
  • grantee: Brooklyn Academy of Music
    amount: $600,000
    city: Brooklyn, NY
    year: 2011

    To produce a feature-length documentary on Robert Wilson and Philip Glass's historic opera, Einstein on the Beach, and distribute it for international theatrical release and domestic television broadcast

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Television
    • Investigator Karen Hopkins

    Funds from this grant to the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) will support the development, production, and broadcast of a feature-length documentary on the Philip Glass opera, Einstein on the Beach. The documentary will explore the intersection of Einstein's life and legacy with the making of the opera.

    To produce a feature-length documentary on Robert Wilson and Philip Glass's historic opera, Einstein on the Beach, and distribute it for international theatrical release and domestic television broadcast

    More
  • grantee: Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association Inc.
    amount: $1,500,000
    city: Arlington, VA
    year: 2011

    For high quality on-air and online coverage on PBS's NewsHour to enhance economic and financial literacy

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Television
    • Investigator Linda Winslow

    This grant provides continued support for enhanced coverage of economic and financial topics on The PBS NewsHour. Through its recurring weekly segment, Making Sen$e with Paul Solman, the NewsHour aims to produce and broadcast at least 60 on-air segments over the next two years covering economic and financial topics. Additional funds from this grant will support a host of complementary web activities, including the production of at least 60 web-only videos on economic topics, continued operation of an online "Q&A desk" where Solman answers questions from readers, the development of a free iPad app allowing iPad users to easily access NewsHour economics content, and the production of syllabi, lesson plans, and other materials to facilitate the use of NewsHour segments in American classrooms.

    For high quality on-air and online coverage on PBS's NewsHour to enhance economic and financial literacy

    More
  • grantee: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    amount: $308,028
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2011

    To investigate the structure and performance of labor markets in the aftermath of the Great Recession

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Alexandre Mas

    Funds from this grant support a project by economists Alexandre Mas of Princeton University and David Card of University of California, Berkeley to advance our understanding of unemployment and the behavior of labor markets in the aftermath of the October 2008 financial crisis and the subsequent U.S. recession. With support from Sloan Foundation funds, Mas and Card will commission a dozen papers from distinguished researchers about key microeconomic aspects of the current unemployment predicament. Topics to be explored include how the recession changed current and future employment patterns, why employment has yet to significantly rebound, and what effects long-term effects prolonged unemployment have on workers' welfare and human capital. In addition, the grant will fund efforts to disseminate the commissioned work, including the publication of the papers in a special edition of a peer-reviewed journal, and a forum in Washington aimed at communicating research results to policymakers.

    To investigate the structure and performance of labor markets in the aftermath of the Great Recession

    More
  • grantee: Planetwork NGO, Inc.
    amount: $20,000
    city: San Francisco, CA
    year: 2011

    To support a workshop on reputation systems and web annotation

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Dan Whaley

    To support a workshop on reputation systems and web annotation

    More
  • grantee: University of Rhode Island
    amount: $48,230
    city: Kingston, RI
    year: 2011

    To analyze and recommend public engagement strategy for the Deep Carbon Observatory

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Sara Hickox

    To analyze and recommend public engagement strategy for the Deep Carbon Observatory

    More
  • grantee: Friends of the International Mathematical Union
    amount: $73,000
    city: Providence, RI
    year: 2011

    To bring international participants, perspectives, and potential partners to the planning of a Mathematical Heritage Library

    • Program Science
    • Investigator Ingrid Daubechies

    To bring international participants, perspectives, and potential partners to the planning of a Mathematical Heritage Library

    More
  • grantee: Association of American Universities
    amount: $94,041
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2011

    To plan the launch of a sustainable media outlet for communicating with the public about academic research results

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Andrew Jaspan

    To plan the launch of a sustainable media outlet for communicating with the public about academic research results

    More
  • grantee: Columbia University
    amount: $124,996
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2011

    To create a graphical, open-source Citation Style Language (CSL) editor that can be used to develop, edit, and customize bibliographic reference styles

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Damon Jaggars

    To create a graphical, open-source Citation Style Language (CSL) editor that can be used to develop, edit, and customize bibliographic reference styles

    More
  • grantee: Library of Congress
    amount: $38,750
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2011

    To support a two-day meeting to identify gray literature preservation priorities in the sciences

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Martha Anderson

    To support a two-day meeting to identify gray literature preservation priorities in the sciences

    More
  • grantee: Social Science Research Network
    amount: $60,490
    city: Rochester, NY
    year: 2011

    To develop a plan for extending the Social Science Research Network's scope to include research data as well as preprint articles

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Gregory Gordon

    To develop a plan for extending the Social Science Research Network's scope to include research data as well as preprint articles

    More
  • grantee: Wellesley College
    amount: $39,828
    city: Wellesley, MA
    year: 2011

    To improve recruitment and retention of students in STEM fields and produce graduates who understand the role of science in society

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Adele Wolfson

    To improve recruitment and retention of students in STEM fields and produce graduates who understand the role of science in society

    More
  • grantee: University of Texas, Austin
    amount: $49,973
    city: Austin, TX
    year: 2011

    To determine feasibility of a follow-up study of the High School and Beyond (HSB) respondents to provide vital information about linkages of early cognitive and non-cognitive skills to labor force outcomes for older Americans

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Chandra Muller

    To determine feasibility of a follow-up study of the High School and Beyond (HSB) respondents to provide vital information about linkages of early cognitive and non-cognitive skills to labor force outcomes for older Americans

    More
  • grantee: New York County District Attorney
    amount: $125,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2011

    To support a pilot study to examine digital court documents to detect and measure the prevalence of perjury and develop options to mitigate it

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Karen Sheehan

    To support a pilot study to examine digital court documents to detect and measure the prevalence of perjury and develop options to mitigate it

    More
  • grantee: Open Knowledge Foundation
    amount: $124,315
    city: Cambridge, United Kingdom
    year: 2011

    To promote open content and open data practices in economics

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Rufus Pollock

    To promote open content and open data practices in economics

    More
  • grantee: New Venture Fund
    amount: $71,275
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2011

    To catalyze empirical research on how obfuscated markets respond to smart disclosure policies

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Rachael Raab

    To catalyze empirical research on how obfuscated markets respond to smart disclosure policies

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Berkeley
    amount: $96,697
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2011

    To explore and encourage new applications of Transactions Cost Economics

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Pablo Spiller

    To explore and encourage new applications of Transactions Cost Economics

    More
  • grantee: National University of Singapore America Foundation Inc
    amount: $125,000
    city: Sunnyvale, CA
    year: 2011

    Planning grant to establish a South Asian science engagement project

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Surya Sethi

    Planning grant to establish a South Asian science engagement project

    More
  • grantee: Drexel University
    amount: $100,591
    city: Philadelphia, PA
    year: 2011

    To establish an evaluation infrastructure that will serve as a model for research and practice in institutional, national, and international leadership development programs, particularly those focusing on women faculty in engineering, technology, and scie

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Diane Magrane

    To establish an evaluation infrastructure that will serve as a model for research and practice in institutional, national, and international leadership development programs, particularly those focusing on women faculty in engineering, technology, and scie

    More
  • grantee: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
    amount: $80,000
    city: Troy, NY
    year: 2011

    To develop the data science and management dimensions of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Peter Fox

    To develop the data science and management dimensions of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    More
  • grantee: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
    amount: $50,000
    city: Cold Spring Harbor, NY
    year: 2011

    To help develop a history of the Human Genome Project

    • Program Science
    • Investigator Mila Pollock

    To help develop a history of the Human Genome Project

    More
  • grantee: Cornell University
    amount: $124,851
    city: Ithaca, NY
    year: 2011

    To support a pilot project to develop appropriate datasets and methodology for examining how different ownership structures-particularly private equity-affect hospital performance and outcomes

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Rosemary Batt

    To support a pilot project to develop appropriate datasets and methodology for examining how different ownership structures-particularly private equity-affect hospital performance and outcomes

    More
  • grantee: New Jersey Institute of Technology Foundation
    amount: $25,850
    city: Newark, NJ
    year: 2011

    As support for talks, performances, and artistic presentations on the role of beauty and aesthetics in Darwin's theories of selection

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program New Media
    • Investigator David Rothenberg

    As support for talks, performances, and artistic presentations on the role of beauty and aesthetics in Darwin's theories of selection

    More
  • grantee: Creative Commons
    amount: $250,917
    city: Mountain View, CA
    year: 2011

    To define the main issues and challenges of enabling a large-scale science commons and an achievable strategic plan for Creative Commons

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Catherine Casserly

    The licenses developed by Creative Commons have become an essential set of tools to patch gaps in the international system of copyright, creating a parallel, opt?in intellectual property regime that doesn't require country?by?country legislative change to implement. With those licenses fairly well integrated into modern practice, Creative Commons is embarking on a year?long process of strategic planning to determine where and how they can best have an impact in new areas, including science. This grant provides partial support to Creative Commons as it undertakes this process. Funds will augment a November meeting focused on "open science" and nine months of subsequent work on three key themes: licenses for open-access scholarship, legal and technical infrastructure for open data sharing, and the role of patent licensing in science.

    To define the main issues and challenges of enabling a large-scale science commons and an achievable strategic plan for Creative Commons

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Los Angeles
    amount: $1,174,129
    city: Los Angeles, CA
    year: 2011

    To conduct ethnographic research of scientific information and data practices

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Christine Borgman

    Funds from this grant to information scientist Christine Borgman and anthropologist Sharon Traweek at the University of California, Los Angeles support a robust, three-year ethnographic research program to study scientific data practices and develop recommendations about needed skills and relationships within scientific teams who collect and manage data. Borgman, Traweek and their research group will will carry out an ambitious "2x2" research program, comparing projects that produce large volumes of homogeneous data with those involving smaller amounts of heterogeneous data as well as projects at earlier and later stages of their life cycles. The four sites to be studied include the Dataverse Network at Harvard, the Center for Embedded Network Sensing, a new National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded center for data-driven science and the transfer of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey data from Fermilab to long-term homes at Johns Hopkins and Princeton. The research will help develop a better knowledge about existing data practices in modern science, inform future infrastructure investments, and clarify new roles around issues like data curation.

    To conduct ethnographic research of scientific information and data practices

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Davis
    amount: $1,500,000
    city: Davis, CA
    year: 2011

    To initiate the research of the team of the Deep Carbon Observatory concerned with basic physics and chemistry of carbon at the extreme pressure and temperature conditions of Earth's interior

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Giulia Galli

    The Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO) as a whole aims to achieve transformational understanding of carbon's chemical and biological roles in Earth's interior. A multidisciplinary, decade-long effort, the DCO consists of a distributed but closely coordinated set of observational efforts and analytical instruments united by shared databases and a commitment to open access. The program leaders have set ambitious global goals, for example, to reduce the range of estimates of total carbon in Earth's mantle from a factor of twenty to a factor of two, to establish the techniques that resolve ambiguities about possible biotic versus abiotic hydrocarbon production, to accomplish the first global 3-D census of deep microbial life (presented in interactive 3-D!), and to produce a comprehensive database of thermochemical properties and speciation of carbon-bearing fluids and phases at the pressure and temperature conditions of the upper mantle. To meet its objectives, the DCO has organized into four "directorates," three of which-Reservoirs and Fluxes, Deep Energy, and Deep Life-have already been funded through previous Foundation grants. This grant to the University of California, Davis will provide partial funding for two years of operations of the DCO's final directorate, concerned with the most basic physics and chemistry of carbon in the extreme conditions of the deep crust and mantle. When we think of basic natural science, we may recall subjects from high school and college courses such as phase diagrams and equations of state. A phase diagram is a type of chart used to show conditions at which thermodynamically distinct phases (such as solid, liquid, or gas) can occur at equilibrium. An equation of state describes a state of matter under a given set of physical conditions such as temperature, pressure, and volume. These are the subjects of the fourth directorate. One reason so little is known about the deep carbon cycle is ignorance of the basic physics and chemistry of carbon at the pressure and temperature conditions of Earth's interior. Even phase diagrams and equations of state do not exist for relevant carbon-bearing fluids and minerals at the prevailing conditions deep inside Earth. Over the next two years, an international team led by University of California, Davis physicist Giulia Galli will make observations, conduct experiments, and build models concerned with thermodynamics of carbon bearing systems in the crust and mantle, dynamics and kinetics of deep carbon processes, and mineral-fluid interactions under extreme conditions. Its results, such as the database of thermochemical properties, will be essential for the other directorates and for the success of the Deep Carbon Observatory as a whole.

    To initiate the research of the team of the Deep Carbon Observatory concerned with basic physics and chemistry of carbon at the extreme pressure and temperature conditions of Earth's interior

    More
  • grantee: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
    amount: $125,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2011

    To provide further support to the Carnegie Endowment's project to develop voluntary Principles of Conduct for nuclear reactor vendors

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator George Perkovich

    With Sloan Foundation support, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace has brokered the development of a voluntary agreement among nuclear reactor vendors to abide by an industry-wide set of principles meant to increase the safety and security of nuclear facilities. This grant funds a year of follow-up activities subsequent to the formal adoption of the principles on September 15, 2011. Funded activities include briefing governments on the final text of the Principles of Conduct; conducting outreach to reactor operators, the World Association of Nuclear Operators, and other stakeholders encouraging them to adopt and abide by the principles; convening a meeting a review meeting to monitor implementation of the procedures set out in the Principles; developing processes to enable sharing of best practices across the industry; and working with nuclear reactor vendors to create an independent secretariat.

    To provide further support to the Carnegie Endowment's project to develop voluntary Principles of Conduct for nuclear reactor vendors

    More
  • grantee: ICPO-INTERPOL
    amount: $1,600,000
    city: Lyon, France
    year: 2011

    To provide partial support to develop INTERPOL's Radiological and Nuclear Terrorism Prevention Program

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Ronald Noble

    Funds from this grant provide partial support to INTERPOL to develop a Radiological and Nuclear Terrorism Prevention Program (RNTPP). Building on the success of their Biological Terrorism Prevention Program, INTERPOL 's work plan for developing the RNTPP will include organizing three terrorism prevention courses and one tabletop terrorism prevention exercise per year for three years, holding a international working group meeting to produce a report targeting the needs of police services in preventing nuclear and radiological terrorism, developing an investigative handbook, and designing and deploying five e-learning modules. Partnering with the International Atomic Energy Agency, INTERPOL will also develop a joint course aimed specifically at educating and training emergency personnel and other likely first responders to potential nuclear or radiological attacks.

    To provide partial support to develop INTERPOL's Radiological and Nuclear Terrorism Prevention Program

    More
  • grantee: National Information Standards Organization
    amount: $222,706
    city: Baltimore, MD
    year: 2011

    To develop a new specification for the real-time synchronization of web resources housed in separate repositories

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Todd Carpenter

    No central authority tracks updates to an article or a dataset as it moves through various publication channels or institutional, disciplinary, or personal repositories over the course of its lifetime. A scholarly research paper, for example, might be available on a preprint server, the author's home page, a journal's website, and in an institutional repository. Imagine the difficulty an author would face should she wish to add a passage about updated findings to previous versions of the paper. The proliferation of copies means online materials behave surprisingly like physical paper; once you print out a copy of an article, the author can't push revisions to your copy. To address this need, the National Information Standards Organization (NISO) is beginning a project to convene a group of key computer and information scientists to develop a standard for the versioning and synchronization of web resources. They also plan to hold a series of workshops that follow the community development process, resulting in a codified standard that meets the needs of publishers, repositories, and other stewards of scholarly products. Alongside other work on data citation, annotation, and canonical author identifiers, the resulting NISO standard would be a valuable tool to facilitate the publication of scholarship and research data on the web, and is likely to be useful in other contexts as well. Funds from this grant will provide partial support for NISO's efforts over the next two years.

    To develop a new specification for the real-time synchronization of web resources housed in separate repositories

    More
  • grantee: Public Library of Science
    amount: $353,393
    city: San Francisco, CA
    year: 2011

    To develop, deploy, and promote Article Level Metrics tools and approaches

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Peter Binfield

    From a user's perspective, rapid-publication "megajournals" like PLoS ONE share a common problem with preprint servers like arXiv or the Social Science Research Network: without traditional quality indicators, researchers are left having to make sense of an ever-growing pile of undifferentiated articles. Readers need better mechanisms at the article level to enable them to see in a moment how one paper relates to others in terms of citation, usage, and other indicators of quality so that they can easily make informed choices about which papers are most relevant to their own research and interests. This two-year grant to the Public Library of Science supports efforts to develop, deploy, and promote just such article-level metrics both for PLoS and for the wider academic community. Funds will support three related activities. First, the PLoS team will extend their existing publishing platform to pull in data well beyond basic download counts, from inbound web links to usage statistics via popular research management platforms like Mendeley and Zotero. Second, PLoS will substantially refine the interfaces used to present that data, testing a number of design approaches to determine what visualizations are most helpful to their users. Finally, PLoS will launch a substantial outreach program, circulating white papers and engaging both open-access and commercial publishers in a broad conversation about article-level metrics adoption. Code developed through this grant will be released under a free/open-source license.

    To develop, deploy, and promote Article Level Metrics tools and approaches

    More
  • grantee: National Academy of Sciences
    amount: $334,667
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2011

    To study the feasibility of an online and open access Mathematical Heritage Library

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Scott Weidman

    Funds from this grant support a project by the National Academy of Sciences' Board on Mathematical Sciences and their Applications to study the feasibility of creating an online, open-access Mathematical Heritage Library. Issues to be addressed by the study include evaluating the potential value of such a library, identifying desired and useful capabilities for the library, assessing potential obstacles and challenges to the development process, and estimating probable costs of the library's development, deployment, and maintenance.

    To study the feasibility of an online and open access Mathematical Heritage Library

    More
  • grantee: New York University
    amount: $474,400
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2011

    For an annual feature film production grant over three years to enable film students to shoot a first feature film about science and technology

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Sheril Antonio

    This grant funds a project by New York University's Maurice Kanbar Institute of Film & TV to spur the production of high-quality, feature-length films about science and technology through a competitive awards open to all NYU film students. Each year for the next three years, NYU will offer $100,000 to the best student script exploring scientific, mathematical, or technological themes or featuring a scientist, mathematician, or engineer as a main character, with award funds to be used to turn the script into a feature length film. NYU will administer the awards process, accepting applications, convening a faculty panel to select quarter-finalists, advising filmmakers on needed script revisions, and arranging for scripts that advance as semi-finalists to procure an appropriate science advisor to ensure technical accuracy. Three scripts moving on to the final round will each receive $5,000 awards.

    For an annual feature film production grant over three years to enable film students to shoot a first feature film about science and technology

    More
  • grantee: Stanford University
    amount: $315,860
    city: Stanford, CA
    year: 2011

    To support research and analysis of the economics of series versus parallel retirement income strategies

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator John Shoven

    As the U.S. retirement landscape has shifted from one dominated by defined benefit plans (DB) to one dominated by defined contribution plans (DC), older Americans have had to assume more responsibility, as well as more risk, in ensuring their long-term financial security. To that end, they must make complicated income strategy decisions: how long to work; when to retire; whether to work post-retirement; and how strategically to utilize their DC assets and Social Security benefits. This grant supports a project by Stanford economist John Shoven, and Occidental College professor Sita Slavov to analyze and evaluate the potential financial benefits of a specific income strategy that they refer to as the "series" strategy. Utilizing this strategy, older Americans would first deplete their DC assets before drawing on their Social Security benefits, hence using their retirement resources serially. Shoven and Slavov plan to clarify how-under specific conditions that individuals and couples face, such as both working or one earning more than the other-the "series strategy" could lead to more attractive returns relative to the more typically-used "parallel" strategy, where older Americans simultaneously use their defined pension accumulations to supplement Social Security, hence using them in parallel to one another. Preliminary analyses suggest there are substantial financial benefits to the "series" strategy for older Americans, in large part due to the fact that Social Security benefits are indexed to inflation and increase as initial payments are delayed. Addition grant funds will support the publication of a publicly available brochure laying out Shoven and Slavov's conclusions and a conference directed at informing federal policymakers, researchers, financial advisors, and other relevant stakeholders about the research.

    To support research and analysis of the economics of series versus parallel retirement income strategies

    More
  • grantee: Harvard University
    amount: $2,498,168
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2011

    For an intense two-year process of workshops, meetings, plenaries, research, pilot digitization, prototype development, and community building that will result in the launch of the Digital Public Library of America

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Universal Access to Knowledge
    • Investigator John Palfrey

    This grant to John Palfrey and Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet and Society (Berkman Center) provides funding for an intense process of meetings, workshops, plenaries, research, pilot digitization, technical prototype development, and community building that will lead to the launch of a Digital Public Library of America (DPLA). Over the next two years, Palfrey and his team will coordinate at least 22 workshops divided among six major interrelated workstreams covering various aspects of the DPLA: content and scope, audience participation, technical architecture, finance/business models, legal issues, and governance. Each workstream will arrive at a plan of action for ensuring the best outcome for an integrated national digital library system that provides seamless access to digital resources.

    For an intense two-year process of workshops, meetings, plenaries, research, pilot digitization, prototype development, and community building that will result in the launch of the Digital Public Library of America

    More
  • grantee: University of Colorado, Boulder
    amount: $1,202,738
    city: Boulder, CO
    year: 2011

    To assess the microbiology of municipal water delivery systems in the U.S.

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Norman Pace

    Little is known about the biology of microbial populations living in our drinking water. Current systems monitor drinking water for the absence of fecal bacteria using coliform counts, a very old method, and for total bacterial load, which is determined by growing cultures of bacteria found in water samples. Yet 99.99% of bacteria cannot be successfully grown in culture, and thus are missed by using such methods. Our drinking water, in other words, is monitored using very old and inaccurate techniques. This three year grant will fund a project led by Professor Norman Pace at the University of Colorado, Boulder, to use state-of-the art gene sequencing techniques to begin to characterize the microbial populations in municipal water delivery systems. Preliminary work by Pace and his research team on the municipal water supply in Boulder, Colorado has revealed a diverse and (perhaps) stable microbial profile in the Boulder municipal water system, one that differs significantly from the microbial populations in water supplies in New York, New Orleans, and Austin. Funds from this grant will allow Pace to continue and expand this work, as well as provide support for a smaller project to measure how concrete degradation, a common problem in aging municipal water deliver infrastructure, affects microbial populations in the water supply, and funds to complete Pace's ongoing work examining how the flooding of an engineering building on the University of Colorado, Boulder campus changed the characteristics of microbial communities inside the building.

    To assess the microbiology of municipal water delivery systems in the U.S.

    More
  • grantee: University of Colorado, Boulder
    amount: $575,000
    city: Boulder, CO
    year: 2011

    To organize and convene three annual meetings on the microbiology of the built environment

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Mark Hernandez

    The goal of the Foundation's Indoor Environment program is to grow a new field of scientific inquiry that eventually will be funded by traditional U.S. government funding agencies. This grant to Mark Hernandez of the University of California, Boulder will fund three annual conferences to bring together the large, diverse, multidisciplinary community of biologists, engineers, architects, and others studying the microbiology of built environments. At the conferences, scientists will share research results, develop and advance a coordinated research agenda for studying indoor microbial populations, and educate NGOs and key federal agencies about the importance of directing research and regulatory to this new field of inquiry.

    To organize and convene three annual meetings on the microbiology of the built environment

    More
  • grantee: Science Festival Foundation
    amount: $1,300,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2011

    To support programming and dissemination of the World Science Festival for two years

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program New Media
    • Investigator Tracy Day

    This grant provides two years of continuing support to the Science Festival Foundation to produce the World Science Festival, a weeklong series of more than 50 lectures, demonstrations, and public exhibits designed to celebrate science and scientific discovery. In addition to funding the organization and production of the festival for the next two years, funds from this grant will also support the Science Festival Foundation's continued efforts to increase its impact by establishing national and international distribution networks for Festival-created content, to expand its online media platform, and to develop programming for use in science classrooms in New York and beyond.

    To support programming and dissemination of the World Science Festival for two years

    More
  • grantee: Center For Independent Documentary
    amount: $315,000
    city: Sharon, MA
    year: 2011

    To support the production of a PBS documentary on "Coming of Age in Aging America"

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Christine Herbes-Sommers

    This grant provides funds for the production of a 60 to 90 minute primetime documentary, Coming of Age in Aging America, to be broadcast nationally on PBS. The documentary will focus on the changing demographics of the U.S. and the challenges posed to American cultural, governmental, and other societal institutions by an aging U.S. populace. The documentary will devote considerable attention to issues of aging and work, including looking at the costs and benefits of working longer, the consequences of various retirement practices on the U.S. social security and Medicare systems, ageism and social biases affecting older workers, and new research on age and productivity.

    To support the production of a PBS documentary on "Coming of Age in Aging America"

    More
  • grantee: National Academy of Sciences
    amount: $600,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2011

    To study global competition for talent by comparing the high-skilled immigration policies of industrialized nations

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Economic Analysis of Science and Technology (EAST)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Gail Cohen

    Funds from this grant will provide support for a major conference on high-skilled immigration for both researchers and non-specialists. Organized by Stephen Merrill, Executive Director of the Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy of that National Academy of Sciences, the conference will concentrate on international comparisons of policies that influence the supply, demand, and mobility of scientists and engineers. An expert committee appointed by STEP, will study this topic in advance of the conference and commission several review papers. Subsequent to the conference, the Academy will issue a peer-reviewed publication featuring feature conference session summaries, the commissioned papers, and a research agenda that can help prioritize future work in this area.

    To study global competition for talent by comparing the high-skilled immigration policies of industrialized nations

    More
  • grantee: University of Oxford
    amount: $989,739
    city: Oxford, United Kingdom
    year: 2011

    To measure the drivers and dynamics of high skilled immigration

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Economic Analysis of Science and Technology (EAST)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Mathias Czaika

    The decision to emigrate depends both on where the potential immigrant is going and where he or she is coming from. Changes in the conditions and laws in a given country affect people differently in different countries, depending on the conditions and laws there. Yet, when collecting information about immigration, countries tend to be interested only in their own policies, and they tend to track only the total immigrant flows across their own borders. No one nation has much incentive to collect, reconcile, or share detailed information about what is happening elsewhere. This grant to the International Migration Institute at Oxford University supports the work of a team lead by Hein de Haas to compile information about the flow patterns and the policy determinants of high-skilled immigration, concentrating on relocation decisions by students and academics. The project, called DEMIG, studies the "DEterminants of International MIGration" by producing sharable datasets that are bilateral and longitudinal, i.e., that record both sending and receiving information between pairs of countries repeatedly over time. Funds from this grant will allow de Hass and his team to extend DEMIG's Migration Flow Database to include skill indicators like education and employment, and extend DEMIG's Policy Database beyond immigration laws to track factors like fellowship or research funding levels that can specifically influence student and faculty mobility decisions.

    To measure the drivers and dynamics of high skilled immigration

    More
  • grantee: University of Michigan
    amount: $401,700
    city: Ann Arbor, MI
    year: 2011

    To model how U.S. labor markets for scientists and engineers respond to immigration and other factors

    • Program Economics
    • Initiative Economic Analysis of Science and Technology (EAST)
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator John Bound

    Do immigrant workers crowd out native ones? How do specific changes in U.S. immigration policy affect scientific and engineering labor markets? Why do foreign-born students and workers who stay in the U.S. decide to stay? How do these considerations vary across scientific fields? This grants supports the work of professors John Bound and Sarah Turner to build well?specified, carefully estimated, and policy-relevant models of how the supply of and demand for scientists and engineers in the U.S. adjust in a global context. Within this comprehensive framework, they will investigate and quantify given factors such as U.S. immigration policies, economic conditions in foreign countries, and U.S. market conditions for tertiary education as these interact with observed factors such as wages, unemployment rates, and flows between specialties in domestic labor markets for scientists and engineers.

    To model how U.S. labor markets for scientists and engineers respond to immigration and other factors

    More
  • grantee: Fund for the City of New York
    amount: $750,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2011

    To provide partial support for the Sloan Public Service Awards program

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Mary McCormick

    This grant provides three years of support for the continued operation of the Sloan Public Service Awards. Administered by the Fund for the City of New York since 1973 and supported by the Sloan Foundation since 1985, these annual awards honor exceptional civil servants working in New York City municipal government. Each of the six yearly winners receive a $10,000 award and is honored both in a ceremony at his or her workplace and in a city-wide celebration presided over by the Mayor. Grant funds will support the administrative costs of the program for three years, including the selection process, nominee vetting, press outreach, event planning, and award monies.

    To provide partial support for the Sloan Public Service Awards program

    More
  • grantee: WGBH Educational Foundation
    amount: $700,000
    city: Boston, MA
    year: 2011

    For broadcast of a 2-hour NOVA special on the discovery and the scientific role of the elements in the periodic table with enhanced digital outreach and mobile application

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Television
    • Investigator Paula Apsell

    This grant provides support for the production and broadcast of a two-hour NOVA special about the elements of the periodic table, their discovery, and the important role they have played over the course of human history. Hosted by author and New York Times technology columnist David Pogue and based on Theodore Grey's bestselling book, The Elements, the NOVA special will cover a broad range of topics, including the organization of the periodic table by Dmitri Mendeleev, how early human technological development was driven largely by our understanding and mastery of metals, and the role rare earth elements currently play in such modern conveniences as cell phones and batteries. Also funded through this grant are digital outreach efforts to broaden the scope and impact of the special, including production of exclusive web-only content to complement the special, expanded activities on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, and the development of an interactive iPad app.

    For broadcast of a 2-hour NOVA special on the discovery and the scientific role of the elements in the periodic table with enhanced digital outreach and mobile application

    More
  • grantee: Connecticut Public Broadcasting, Inc.
    amount: $1,196,390
    city: Hartford, CT
    year: 2011

    For production, broadcast, and outreach for a two-part public television series about what impact the science behind brain scans could or should have on the criminal justice system

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Television
    • Investigator Graham Chedd

    Funds from this grant support the production and broadcast of a two-hour PBS series on how new developments in neuroscience may affect the criminal justice system and our understanding of free will and personal responsibility. Produced by Graham Chedd and hosted by Alan Alda, the series will seek to explain the science behind fMRI brain scans-both its enormous potential and its very significant current limitations-and explore what this new technology could mean for how we determine guilt and innocence. The series will feature commentary from a host of experts-neuroscientists, philosophers, ethicists, legal scholars, and judges- bringing diverse variety of perspectives to the topic and ensuring that it remains both engaging and accessible.

    For production, broadcast, and outreach for a two-part public television series about what impact the science behind brain scans could or should have on the criminal justice system

    More
  • grantee: The Brookings Institution
    amount: $600,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2011

    To publish through BPEA financial research and economic data that is accessible, reliable, and influential

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Justin Wolfers

    Funds from this grant provide administrative and operational support for the continued publication of the Brookings Papers on Economic Activity (BPEA), one of the premier outlets for policy-relevant economic research.

    To publish through BPEA financial research and economic data that is accessible, reliable, and influential

    More
  • grantee: University of Maryland, College Park
    amount: $465,272
    city: College Park, MD
    year: 2011

    To compile, study, and openly distribute a nationally standardized database of government health inspectors' restaurant ratings

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Benjamin Bederson

    Funds from this grant support a project by Benjamin Bederson, Ginger Jin, and Phillip Leslie to compile, compare, and curate restaurant health inspection datasets so that they can be freely used by consumers and researchers in many cities across the U.S. The undertaking will involve reconciling the different laws, rating systems, and ranking criteria that preponderate across differing municipal, county, and state jurisdictions, as well as combining large amounts of data collected under varying formats, standards, and protocols. When completed, Bederson, Jin, and Leslie's efforts will not only render health inspection information easier for consumers to access and interpret but also provide a robust dataset for use by economists, sociologists, and other researchers interested in the efficacy of regulation and its effect on behavior.

    To compile, study, and openly distribute a nationally standardized database of government health inspectors' restaurant ratings

    More
  • grantee: University of Warwick
    amount: $561,672
    city: Coventry, United Kingdom
    year: 2011

    To develop mathematical foundations and applications for the control theory of complex systems

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Robert Mackay

    Epidemiologists explain and predict the spread of infectious disease using what they call probabilistic cellular automata (PCA) models. A PCA consists of nodes in a network, each of which is in a state that changes from one time period to the next depending both on the states of nearby nodes and, to some extent, on chance, too. So imagine each node represents a person, and that each person can be in one of three states: healthy, ill, or deceased. Once researchers specify a rule for how likely you are to get sick or die tomorrow given the health of those around you today, they can run the model forward in time and begin to investigate patterns. Such techniques have helped explain how, when, and why to vaccinate, to quarantine, or to take other steps for managing the outbreak of a particular disease. The same kind of model can also describe the spread of financial distress, where nodes represent banks that are connected to other banks through a network of loans or other obligations. This grant to economist Robert Mackay at the University of Warwick will fund a project to convene an international team of researchers to develop theorems, tools, and applicable techniques for constructing PCA models of how financial distress propagates through financial institutions, with the eventual goal of determining how circuit breakers, bailouts, enhanced regulation, or other interventions can mitigate systemic risk.

    To develop mathematical foundations and applications for the control theory of complex systems

    More
  • grantee: Stanford University
    amount: $999,995
    city: Stanford, CA
    year: 2011

    To develop practical techniques for allowing researchers to extract aggregate statistics from large datasets while protecting the privacy of information contained in individual entries

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator John Mitchell

    Datasets that contain private or proprietary information pose a vexing problem. On the one hand, we want to make these datasets available for statistical studies and other research. On the other, we want to protect the privacy of those people or firms referenced in the data. Effective solutions to the problem of how to maximize the usefulness of data while at the same time ensuring privacy have proven elusive. Sheltering datasets off in data enclaves does a good job of protecting proprietary information, but severely restricts their availability for research and inhibits the reproducibility of results. Releasing "anonymized" versions of the data-scrubbed of the private information-greatly increases its accessibility to researchers, but often results in data that is not useful or that can be combined with other public data to "reverse engineer" the removed private information. Funds from this grant support the work of Stanford University's Cynthia Dwork, who is developing methods for accessing data that both maximizes its usefulness to researchers and ensures the privacy and confidentiality of sensitive information in the data. Dwork's primary insight is the development of a precise mathematical definition she calls "differential privacy", which maintains that a data access system assures differential privacy if the outcome of any admissible analysis is essentially independent of whether or not any given individual's information is included in the dataset, and her work has already shown mathematically that several useful data release mechanisms can ensure privacy in this sense. Her work has the potential to become the basis for new ways of exploring sensitive data that could revolutionize empirical research in the social sciences.

    To develop practical techniques for allowing researchers to extract aggregate statistics from large datasets while protecting the privacy of information contained in individual entries

    More
  • grantee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    amount: $327,322
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2011

    To assess whether and to what extent the loss of domestic manufacturing due to trade with China affects the productivity of other U.S. firms in the same geographical area

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Daron Acemoglu

    States, localities, and countries compete aggressively to attract or retain manufacturing plants by offering companies sizable tax breaks and subsidies. This practice is generally presumed to be economical because the benefits from having these facilities-the "spillovers"-will be greater than the cost of the subsidies. When several competing firms locate in the same geographic area, an economically desirable cluster (or "agglomeration economy") is created, which has the potential to yield higher productivity for all the other firms in that cluster ("productivity spillovers"). Funds from this grant support the ongoing work of M.I.T. economists Daron Acemoglu and David Autor, who are studying the economic importance of these geographic clusters of manufacturing firms and the relationship between innovation and manufacturing within these clusters. Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau's Annual Survey of Manufacturers, Census of Manufacturers, and Economic Census, Acemoglu and Autor will investigate whether and how strongly the closing of U.S. manufacturing plants depresses the productivity of other manufacturing plants in the same geographic area.

    To assess whether and to what extent the loss of domestic manufacturing due to trade with China affects the productivity of other U.S. firms in the same geographical area

    More
  • grantee: The University of Chicago
    amount: $995,670
    city: Chicago, IL
    year: 2011

    To construct and calibrate models for analyzing how the financial sector and its regulation can influence the macroeconomy

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Lars Hansen

    The financial sector has traditionally played a minor role in macroeconomic models, typically acting only as a passive transmission mechanism for monetary transactions. Prior to 2008, this minor role seemed justified. Financial crises seemed to have only limited effects on the general economy, so an oversimplified portrayal of the financial sector did not seem unreasonable. After all, the Dow fell almost 23% on Black Monday, October 19, 1987, without triggering a recession. The negative effects of the turn-of-the-century dot-com bubble were mostly confined to Silicon Valley. So when the 2008 financial crisis resulted in a recession in the U.S. and elsewhere, many macroeconomists were at a loss. We are now acutely aware of the need for re-imagined macroeconomic models that take systematic financial risk into account, models that address how financial shocks can be transmitted to the wider economy and vice versa, and that help policy-makers identify and limit systematic risks. Such research has hardly begun, however, and economists are divided on how new models should be formulated. Funds from this grant will support the efforts of Lars Hansen of the University of Chicago and Andrew Lo of M.I.T to convene a working group of leading economists to explore, critique, and consolidate new approaches to modeling systemic financial risk and how the financial sector is connected to the broader economy.

    To construct and calibrate models for analyzing how the financial sector and its regulation can influence the macroeconomy

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Davis
    amount: $495,650
    city: Davis, CA
    year: 2011

    To enable international economic comparisons by supporting the Penn World Table's next generation

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Robert Feenstra

    The Penn World Table (PWT), a set of national accounts data which measures real GDP and relative price levels across countries and over time, is one of the most frequently cited datasets in economics. A 2009 found that, of all the cross-country empirical publications in the economic growth and development literature, nearly two thirds are based on the PWT. Version 6.1 of the PWT has more than 3,000 citations. Until now, the PWT has been a product of the Center for International Comparisons at the University of Pennsylvania, and was produced through the pioneering work of Simon Kuznets, Irving Kravis, Alan Heston, Robert Summers, and Bettina Aten. Yet this team has now either retired or moved on to other pursuits. At this point, Heston, at 77 years old, is the only one still active in preparing the PWT, and shortages of staff and funding have slowed revisions and methodological improvements to the tables. The PWT needs a new home. This grant will partially fund the transition of the Penn World Table from the University of Pennsylvania to the University of California, Davis and the University of Groningen under the care of Robert Feenstra and Marcel Timmer, respectively. Additional funds are provided to evaluate and, if appropriate, implement proposed methodological improvements to the PWT.

    To enable international economic comparisons by supporting the Penn World Table's next generation

    More
  • grantee: University of Oxford
    amount: $845,747
    city: Oxford, United Kingdom
    year: 2011

    To promote and advance international comparative studies of household finance

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Tarun Ramadorai

    Researchers who study household finance study how households make investment decisions, with a particular eye on the common, costly mistakes households make when making important investment choices, such as purchasing a home or allocating savings for retirement. As such, conclusions reached by researchers in this field are highly relevant to policy and regulatory issues of consumer protection, financial literacy, and financial product design. Unfortunately, however, household finance research has tended to focus on households in a small number of developed countries such as the U.S., Sweden, and Finland, that have good, easily accessible data on household investment behavior. Though understandable-good research requires good data-the small number of such countries limits the usefulness of the research conducted, since it is unclear how lessons learned from the household financial behavior of Swedes might be applied to Brazil or India where market conditions, social norms, and national institutions differ substantially. This grant supports the work of Tarun Ramadorai of Oxford University and John Y. Campbell of Harvard University who are working to broaden and enrich the field of household finance by bringing new international comparative perspectives to the field. Over the next three years, Ramadorai and Campbell will create a new international dataset on household financial behavior sourced from both developed and developing economies. Grant funds will support the creation of this dataset, its analysis, a fellowship to encourage participation by foreign economists in the project, and several conferences and academic workshops focused on topics relevant to the field.

    To promote and advance international comparative studies of household finance

    More
  • grantee: University of Toronto
    amount: $976,171
    city: Toronto, ON, Canada
    year: 2011

    To study the economics of knowledge contribution and distribution

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Joshua Gans

    What motivates people to share what they know for the common good? Why do people edit pages in Wikipedia, contribute to the Zagat Guide, or participate in open-source software development when there is little or no (apparent) incentive to do so? Not only do traditional economic theories and models have little to say about the "economics of knowledge contribution," the issues are not even easy to talk about within existing theoretical frameworks. This grant will fund the work of economists Joshua Gans of the University of Toronto and Fiona Murray of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as they seek to understand and explain the economics of why some uncompensated creative activities thrive for the benefit of society while others do not.

    To study the economics of knowledge contribution and distribution

    More
  • grantee: Middlebury College
    amount: $149,155
    city: Middlebury, VT
    year: 2011

    To enable the Monterey Institute of International Studies expand the science-based courses offered in its Masters Degree in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Initiative Nuclear Nonproliferation
    • Investigator William Potter

    This grant funds an initiative at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) at Middlebury College's Monterey Institute of International Studies to expand course offerings at CNS's unique master's program in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies, broadening and strengthening the scientific aspects of the curriculum. Using Sloan Foundation funding, CNS will add five additional science- and technology-based courses with at least 15 students each; offer two new weekend workshops annually on science- and technology-based themes with at least 25 students each; and continue its pre-enrollment, two-week, non-credit course in basic science and mathematics for new M.A. students.

    To enable the Monterey Institute of International Studies expand the science-based courses offered in its Masters Degree in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies

    More
  • grantee: Middlebury College
    amount: $149,063
    city: Middlebury, VT
    year: 2011

    To enable the Monterey Institute of International Studies to provide nonproliferation education and training for diplomats, government officials and mid-career professionals at international organizations

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Initiative Nuclear Nonproliferation
    • Investigator William Potter

    In fall 2010, the Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) of Middlebury College's Monterey Institute of International Studies was selected by the Austrian Foreign Ministry to manage a new Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation in Vienna, home-city of the International Atomic Energy Agency and, therefore, the global center for nuclear diplomacy. In September 2011, CNS ran a pilot one-week intensive course on nonproliferation at the new Center, aimed at providing nonproliferation education and training for diplomats, government officials, and mid-career professionals at international organizations. Funds from this grant will allow CNS to expand its offerings in Vienna either to one two-week course annually or, if diplomats cannot spare that much time for training, to two one-week courses. Each course would have at least 20 participants, at least 70% of whom would be from Non-Aligned countries. The rest would be diplomats from other countries or employees of international organizations, most of whom have excellent technical backgrounds but limited knowledge of the politics, institutions, and agreements that govern the international nuclear regime.

    To enable the Monterey Institute of International Studies to provide nonproliferation education and training for diplomats, government officials and mid-career professionals at international organizations

    More
  • grantee: The Graduate Center of The City University of New York
    amount: $107,500
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2011

    To develop and test with the Modern Language Association (MLA) an alpha version of a "Commons-in-a-Box" software tool for scholarly communities first developed at City University of New York

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Matthew Gold

    To develop and test with the Modern Language Association (MLA) an alpha version of a "Commons-in-a-Box" software tool for scholarly communities first developed at City University of New York

    More
  • grantee: Yale University
    amount: $118,851
    city: New Haven, CT
    year: 2011

    To construct and test behavioral models of how bankruptcy and mortgage default regulations impact household financial decisions

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Costas Meghir

    To construct and test behavioral models of how bankruptcy and mortgage default regulations impact household financial decisions

    More
  • grantee: University of Wisconsin, Madison
    amount: $45,000
    city: Madison, WI
    year: 2011

    To model and empirically test for unintended behavioral consequences of Medicare Part D regulations

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Francesco Decarolis

    To model and empirically test for unintended behavioral consequences of Medicare Part D regulations

    More
  • grantee: Library Foundation of Los Angeles
    amount: $36,000
    city: Los Angeles, CA
    year: 2011

    For partial support for three-day conference on the role of U.S. public libraries in the age of digitization and in the creation of a digital public library

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Universal Access to Knowledge
    • Investigator Martin Gуmez

    For partial support for three-day conference on the role of U.S. public libraries in the age of digitization and in the creation of a digital public library

    More
  • grantee: Society of American Archivists Foundation
    amount: $6,000
    city: Chicago, IL
    year: 2011

    To support the Society of American Archivists sending a member of its Intellectual Property Working Group to the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Committee on Copyright and Related Rights

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Nancy Beaumont

    To support the Society of American Archivists sending a member of its Intellectual Property Working Group to the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Committee on Copyright and Related Rights

    More
  • grantee: StoryCorps Inc
    amount: $24,494
    city: Brooklyn, NY
    year: 2011

    To develop a plan for management of and computational access to the StoryCorps digital sound archive

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Virginia Millington

    To develop a plan for management of and computational access to the StoryCorps digital sound archive

    More
  • grantee: Harvard University
    amount: $15,000
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2011

    To support the Microsoft Research eScience Workshop: Transforming Scholarly Communication

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Alyssa Goodman

    To support the Microsoft Research eScience Workshop: Transforming Scholarly Communication

    More
  • grantee: Business-Higher Education Forum
    amount: $56,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2011

    To develop a plan for piloting strategies to increase enrollment, persistence, and successful graduation of undergraduate students, particularly among women and underrepresented minorities (URMs), in the STEM disciplines in Maryland

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Stephen Barkanic

    To develop a plan for piloting strategies to increase enrollment, persistence, and successful graduation of undergraduate students, particularly among women and underrepresented minorities (URMs), in the STEM disciplines in Maryland

    More
  • grantee: Code for America Labs Inc.
    amount: $50,000
    city: San Francisco, CA
    year: 2011

    To support the 2011 Code for America Summit

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Investigator Jennifer Pahlka

    To support the 2011 Code for America Summit

    More
  • grantee: Foundation Center
    amount: $195,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2011

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Bradford Smith

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    More
  • grantee: Center for the Study of the Presidency
    amount: $67,600
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2011

    To design and run an exercise involving high-level public and private sector participants that simulates a hypothetical financial crisis

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Matthew Purushotham

    To design and run an exercise involving high-level public and private sector participants that simulates a hypothetical financial crisis

    More
  • grantee: Brooklyn Academy of Music
    amount: $122,250
    city: Brooklyn, NY
    year: 2011

    Research and planning for a feature length film and television broadcast about Einstein on the Beach

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Karen Hopkins

    Research and planning for a feature length film and television broadcast about Einstein on the Beach

    More
  • grantee: Syracuse University
    amount: $124,775
    city: Syracuse, NY
    year: 2011

    To analyze the nature and estimated number of jobs associated with the wind energy industry in the U.S. and elsewhere

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Jason Dedrick

    To analyze the nature and estimated number of jobs associated with the wind energy industry in the U.S. and elsewhere

    More
  • grantee: Mongolian American Scientific Research Center
    amount: $7,500
    city: Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
    year: 2011

    To provide additional funding for a conference on fresh and spent fuel management and regional nuclear cooperation in North East Asia

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Dashdorj Dugersuren

    To provide additional funding for a conference on fresh and spent fuel management and regional nuclear cooperation in North East Asia

    More
  • grantee: GuideStar USA, Inc.
    amount: $5,000
    city: Williamsburg, VA
    year: 2011

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Lauren Walinsky

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    More
  • grantee: Michael Lemonick
    amount: $50,000
    city: Princeton, NJ
    year: 2011

    To support the writing of the book "Mirror Earth," a popular account of the search for Earthlike planets beyond the Sun and the technology enabling the search

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Michael Lemonick

    To support the writing of the book "Mirror Earth," a popular account of the search for Earthlike planets beyond the Sun and the technology enabling the search

    More
  • grantee: Princeton University Press
    amount: $40,000
    city: Princeton, NJ
    year: 2011

    To publish a new atlas of galaxies based on the Sloan Digital Sky Survey's collection of full-color, multi-wavelength, digital images of galaxies

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator David Hogg

    To publish a new atlas of galaxies based on the Sloan Digital Sky Survey's collection of full-color, multi-wavelength, digital images of galaxies

    More
  • grantee: University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
    amount: $50,000
    city: Champaign, IL
    year: 2011

    To publish volumes three and four of Ramanujan's Lost Notebook and to make substantial progress on the fifth and final volume

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Buce Berndt

    To publish volumes three and four of Ramanujan's Lost Notebook and to make substantial progress on the fifth and final volume

    More
  • grantee: Institute for Women's Policy Research
    amount: $20,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2011

    To better understand the relationship between education and employment, earnings, and occupations among older Americans

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Jeffrey Hayes

    To better understand the relationship between education and employment, earnings, and occupations among older Americans

    More
  • grantee: Institute for the Future
    amount: $75,000
    city: Palo Alto, CA
    year: 2011

    To test the scalability and portability of Science Hack Day events worldwide

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Ariel Waldman

    To test the scalability and portability of Science Hack Day events worldwide

    More
  • grantee: Stanford University
    amount: $125,000
    city: Stanford, CA
    year: 2011

    To fund development of the Open Monograph Press platform, including an innovative pre-publication module

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator John Willinsky

    To fund development of the Open Monograph Press platform, including an innovative pre-publication module

    More
  • grantee: New York Hall of Science
    amount: $65,000
    city: Corona, NY
    year: 2011

    As a planning grant to develop an interactive electronic book using cases from the Innocence Project to educate the public about the science of DNA and the use of DNA evidence in the criminal justice system

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program New Media
    • Investigator Eric Siegel

    As a planning grant to develop an interactive electronic book using cases from the Innocence Project to educate the public about the science of DNA and the use of DNA evidence in the criminal justice system

    More
  • grantee: Polytechnic Institute of New York University
    amount: $124,993
    city: Brooklyn, NY
    year: 2011

    To support a pilot project for a cyber security lecture series in New York City

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Robert Ubell

    To support a pilot project for a cyber security lecture series in New York City

    More
  • grantee: American University
    amount: $26,350
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2011

    To hold a workshop on what libraries can do today to take advantage of digitization and best serve the scholarly community under existing law

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Universal Access to Knowledge
    • Investigator Peter Jaszi

    To hold a workshop on what libraries can do today to take advantage of digitization and best serve the scholarly community under existing law

    More
  • grantee: University of South Florida
    amount: $125,000
    city: Tampa, FL
    year: 2011

    To institutionalize in the Graduate School efforts to increase the number of and enhance the success of underrepresented minority STEM graduate students at the Univeristy of South Florida

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Peter Harries

    To institutionalize in the Graduate School efforts to increase the number of and enhance the success of underrepresented minority STEM graduate students at the Univeristy of South Florida

    More
  • grantee: American University
    amount: $207,665
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2011

    To create a research database by sampling and digitally preserving personal bankruptcy records going back over a century

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Mary Hansen

    Federal court records document over 30 million personal bankruptcy cases during the century since the U.S. passed its first permanent bankruptcy law in 1898. Storing and maintaining these records is expensive, however-the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts has been spending $2 million per year to keep about a million cubic feet of these paper records stored in boxes at Federal Records Centers in a dozen different regions-and efforts were recently announced to cut costs, possibly by disposing of all these records. Plans to discard this rich historical record naturally set off alarms among scholars of all sorts, from those studying gender and racial disparities, to those interested in business cycles. Researchers began to write about compelling projects that could only be completed using these bankruptcy records. Funds from this grant will support efforts by American University Professor Mary Hansen to work with the National Archive and Records Administration to create a research database from a statistically representative sample of these bankruptcy records, digitally preserving the data they contain for future use by scholars.

    To create a research database by sampling and digitally preserving personal bankruptcy records going back over a century

    More
  • grantee: Carnegie Mellon University
    amount: $435,689
    city: Pittsburgh, PA
    year: 2011

    To conduct and promote research on the credit rating industry and its regulation

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Chester Spatt

    In July 2010, Carnegie Mellon professor Chester Spatt hosted a Foundation-supported conference on the industrial organization of credit ratings agencies - the industry responsible for evaluating the creditworthiness of financial instruments and products. The 80 conference participants composed a diverse crop of researchers, including economists, industry practitioners, government officials, and international experts. In addition to presentations on a number of important topics, including litigation risk, competition among rating firms, and regulatory challenges associated with securitization, the conference hosted a session on next steps, where attendees voiced enthusiasm for forming a research network, continuing annual conferences, compiling shared data, and increasing interaction with policymakers. Funds from this grant will support a project by Professor Spatt to develop just such an ongoing research network. Additional funds provide continued support for Professor Spatt's own work on developing sophisticated game theoretic models of the credit rating process, with an emphasis on potential biases introduced into the ratings process by the way firms purchase ratings sequentially and then decide which ratings to publish.

    To conduct and promote research on the credit rating industry and its regulation

    More
  • grantee: Upjohn Institute for Employment Research
    amount: $349,622
    city: Kalamazoo, MI
    year: 2011

    To study ways of improving economic measurements, statistics, and indicators related to globalization

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Susan Houseman

    This grant to Susan Houseman of the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research supports ongoing efforts to study ways to improve the quality of federal statistics related to the effects of globalization and international trade flows on the U.S. economy and work with officials at the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Bureau of economic analysis to develop practical strategies to correct biases or methodological flaws in current data collection practices. Funds from this grant will support the commissioning of several papers on federal data collection methodologies; an academic conference to be attended by economists, researchers, policymakers, and federal officials; a published volume of papers; and the development of concrete plans for improving how we understand and measure the effects of globalization on the U.S. economy.

    To study ways of improving economic measurements, statistics, and indicators related to globalization

    More
  • grantee: New York University
    amount: $311,556
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2011

    To rank global financial firms according to the systemic risk they pose for the world economy

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Robert Engle

    Among the provisions contained in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act is a requirement that regulators figure out which institutions contribute the most to systemic risk so that these companies can be supervised more closely. Making such a determination requires the creation of a sophisticated, empirically-tested, theoretically-informed model of how firm qualities contribute to systemic risk. Funds from this grant support the ongoing efforts of NYU Stern School Business Professor and Nobel Laureate Rob Engle to develop such a model, allowing a comprehensive ranking of firms that pose the most danger to the global economy. Engle's work subjects firms to a form of stress test, modeling how easily firms could meet regulatory requirements in the event of a sudden drop in asset prices similar to the one that roiled markets in the fall of 2008. Grant funds will allow for the refinement of Professor Engle's model, and for expansion of his rankings to include not just U.S. firms, but international firms as well.

    To rank global financial firms according to the systemic risk they pose for the world economy

    More
  • grantee: Resources for the Future, Inc.
    amount: $1,171,667
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2011

    To inform and improve regulatory and legislative activities affecting shale gas development

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Initiative Shale Gas
    • Investigator Alan Krupnick

    Funds from this grant support a project by Resources for the Future (RFF) to assess the risks associated with increased shale gas development in the United States as viewed by both experts and the public. Primary focus will be on water scarcity and water, air, and soil quality issues associated with surface operations at well sites, vertical well drilling, horizontal drilling, deep hydraulic fracturing, and wastewater disposal. Expert views will be assembled from existing literature, recent government analyses, and interviews with selected experts. Public views will be determined by means of interviews with up to 100 people, four focus groups, and a survey of 1,500 randomly selected adults that will focus on public willingness to pay to reduce risks from shale gas development. Participants in the interviews, focus groups, and surveys will be drawn from residents in the western region of the United States, including Texas, where oil and gas production has a long history, and from the six-state eastern region of the Marcellus shale formation, where oil and gas production had not occurred for many years until recently and where shale gas production could be extensive in the near future. Subsequent to this research, RFF will identify, describe, and analyze the drivers of environmental risks associated with shale gas production and the policy levers potentially available to reduce these risks. RFF will describe and analyze current and prospective regulation and legislation at the national, river basin commission, and state levels, with some attention to the local level. Finally, RFF will put all of this together to develop recommendations for improvements in regulation and legislation.

    To inform and improve regulatory and legislative activities affecting shale gas development

    More
  • grantee: DuraSpace
    amount: $497,433
    city: Ithaca, NY
    year: 2011

    To develop and deploy a "Direct-To-Researcher" cloud-based data platform

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Michele Kimpton

    In a poll conducted by Science in 2011, scientists across disciplines were asked, "Where do you archive most of the data generated in your lab or for your research?" More than 50% responded "in our lab." While fine for short-term research needs, this "data under the desk" scenario poses real risks for the long-term utility and reproducibility of research. One way of improving this situation and getting more data under safer cover is to develop data management solutions that directly address the immediate needs of researchers while allowing the delegation of data curation functions like preservation and archiving. This grant supports a focused, iterative development process by DuraSpace to design, build, and release such a system.

    To develop and deploy a "Direct-To-Researcher" cloud-based data platform

    More
  • grantee: Indiana University
    amount: $606,161
    city: Bloomington, IN
    year: 2011

    To design a prototype system that demonstrates non-consumptive, computational access to a restricted full-text corpus

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Beth Plale

    Access to some datasets is justifiably restricted for legal, ethical, or business reasons. The existence of such datasets presents an opportunity for the smart application of technology that permits aggregate statistical or computational research on the data without violating the constraints that prevent full access. This grant to researcher Beth Plale at Indiana University, supports a collaborative project with the Hathi Trust, holder of over 8.5 million digitized print works, to address the immense technical and theoretical issues involved in designing digital methods for mining data from in-copyright materials that respect current legal restrictions governing access to such works. Plale's team will develop a secure computing environment that will enable researchers to bring their own algorithms and tools to bear on Hathi's full?text digitized corpus, while at the same time limiting the ability of that software (or researchers) to access the work in a way that runs afoul of copyright law.

    To design a prototype system that demonstrates non-consumptive, computational access to a restricted full-text corpus

    More
  • grantee: Adler Planetarium
    amount: $1,011,466
    city: Chicago, IL
    year: 2011

    To demonstrate the ability of data analysis through citizen science to make significant contributions across the widest possible range of research areas

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Christopher Lintott

    Raw data needs preparation to be useful for research. In some cases, what is needed is cleanup and normalization; in others, tagging or categorizing dataset elements. Depending on the domain and kind of data, computers can do much of the necessary work, but some tasks, due to fuzziness or complexity in the data, are currently beyond the bounds of computation. Much data prep requires human eyes, human minds, human judgment, and human labor, a daunting demand when the size of many modern scientific datasets is measured in terabytes. The Zooniverse project, an international effort initially based at Oxford University and now housed primarily at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, offers a straightforward solution to this problem: divide the work into very granular tasks, gather a large crowd of science enthusiasts, and let them loose on the data. "Galaxy Zoo," the first Zooniverse initiative, asked participants to view images of galaxies collected by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and to categorize their shapes, successfully engaging 130,000 participants who performed over 100 million distinct classifications. Subsequent projects have expanded the Zooniverse strategy into other scientific domains, asking volunteers, in one case, to help reconstruct historical climate data by entering records from the digitized images of ship logbooks. Funds from this two-year grant will support the extension of the Zooniverse platform into new mechanics beyond image classification (for example, sound classification of whale songs, or tagging of species from video feeds), outreach efforts to identify scientific datasets that might be usefully improved through tapping Zooniverse volunteers, and activities to engage the large and growing community of the citizen scientists that participate in Zooniverse projects.

    To demonstrate the ability of data analysis through citizen science to make significant contributions across the widest possible range of research areas

    More
  • grantee: Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Management International
    amount: $500,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2011

    To develop the roadmap, management, and support for a borehole into Earth's mantle

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Kiyoshi Suyehiro

    Geologists have dreamed of drilling through the Mohorovi?i? discontinuity between Earth's crust and mantle for more than 50 years. Actual rock from this so-called "Mohole" and observations taken along the way could shed light on many of the most fundamental questions about Earth's history and dynamics that more indirect sampling methods, mainly acoustic, have not been able to answer. The acoustic methods, such as "3-D Seismic" are effective means for creating synoptic images (similar to remote sensing by satellite), but just as a satellite cannot sequence the DNA in a plant or animal spied on Earth's surface, so acoustic and other methods cannot specify mineral composition and other crucial aspects of Earth's interior. Samples taken from the Mohold could prove valuable for defining the limits of life in the deepest part of the crust as well as for understanding mantle-crust interactions and other geological questions The prospect of drilling a hole to earth's mantle, however, is daunting. The most likely site, in the Pacific, would require drilling a hole the depth of 14 Empire State Buildings in 10 Empire State Buildings of water. While continental drillers have drilled this deep and ocean drillers have operated in such deep water, the project would involve integrating the two traditions in an unprecedented way. Risks include safety, environment, and finance (One study estimated the total cost of successfully completing the Mohole could exceed $500 million). Funds from this grant will support efforts by the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program to begin the planning and infrastructure development necessary for successfully drilling a borehole to earth's mantle.

    To develop the roadmap, management, and support for a borehole into Earth's mantle

    More
  • grantee: Ohio State University
    amount: $1,500,000
    city: Columbus, OH
    year: 2011

    To initiate the Deep Energy directorate of the Deep Carbon Observatory with studies differentiating abiogenic from biogenic sources of hydrocarbons

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator David Cole

    This grant to Ohio State University will provide two years of funding for the creation and operation of the Deep Energy directorate of the Deep Carbon Observatory. The third of four directorates that make up the observatory, the Deep Energy directorate will tap an international network of researchers to address one of the most controversial and momentous issues in earth sciences: how to distinguish hydrocarbons, including natural gas and petroleum, which originate from biological materials ("fossil fuels") from those that do not. The Deep Energy team's research agenda aims to develop a fundamental understanding of environments and processes that regulate chemical, mineralogical, and isotopic signatures that could be used to unambiguously differentiate abiogenic from biogenic sources of hydrocarbons. Fifteen scientists from seven countries spanning diverse views form the core team, which is coordinated by a pair of dynamic young researchers, David Cole (Ohio State) and Chris Ballentine (Manchester University, U.K.).

    To initiate the Deep Energy directorate of the Deep Carbon Observatory with studies differentiating abiogenic from biogenic sources of hydrocarbons

    More
  • grantee: Arius Association
    amount: $150,000
    city: Baden, Switzerland
    year: 2011

    To support continued efforts to launch regional repository working groups

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Charles McCombie

    As countries around the world consider building their first nuclear power plant, they must inevitably consider the question of what will happen to the used or "spent" nuclear fuel that will come out of these reactors. An attractive option, especially for countries that are small or that will have only a small number of nuclear power plants, is to work cooperatively with other countries to create a regional spent fuel and high-level nuclear waste repository, thus sharing among a set of partner countries the high costs of such a facility. Since 2009, the Foundation has provided funds to the Arius Association to enable them to promote the regional repository approach in the Arabian Gulf-Middle East region and in South East Asia. Several countries in each of these regions are committed to launching nuclear power programs. Funds from this grant will provide support to Arias for the continuation of these efforts. During that time they will help plan and provide the intellectual backing for two regional meetings. The United Arab Emirates will host an Arabian Gulf-Middle East meeting; and the International Atomic Energy Agency will host a South East Asia meeting. By the end of the two-year grant period, Arius aims to facilitate the creation of multinational working groups considering the desirability and feasibility of creating regional repositories in each of these regions. Working with partner countries and the IAEA, Arius will draft the technical and legal documents needed to make this possible. They will also publish at least one article in a major international magazine that explains and publicizes their work on regional repositories and showcases their progress.

    To support continued efforts to launch regional repository working groups

    More
  • grantee: George Mason University
    amount: $861,762
    city: Fairfax, VA
    year: 2011

    To pioneer new methods for capturing and highlighting online scholarly materials in ways that are useful to research communities

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Joan Fragaszy

    The shift to digitally-mediated forms of scholarship has been characterized by a substantial growth in channels for and diversity of scholarly work. We see this in the flourishing of content in preprint servers and rapid- publication channels like arXiv, PLoS ONE, and the Social Science Research Network alongside unconventional forms of scholarly communication like research blogs and personal websites, all of which enable scholars to put their work out for broad access. Part of the Foundation's emerging strategy to ease this transition is to support the development of new models of filtering and curating online scholarly materials. This three-year grant supports the work of Dan Cohen and Tom Scheinfeldt at George Mason University's Center for History and New Media (CHNM) in the development of a software platform that will enable professional societies and interdisciplinary networks of scholars to collectively organize and review relevant resources. Cohen and Scheinfeldt will undertake a detailed study of various models for aggregating scholarly content, as well as a broad landscape survey of new and changing techniques for managing content on the "open web." In addition to contributing to the general body of knowledge about collective information filtering systems, this research will also directly inform the development of CHNM's "PressForward" platform, a substantial modification of the popular "Wordpress" blogging application that will enable the aggregation and curation of online scholarly resources at both an editorial and community level. Funds from this grant also support the experimental expansion of PressForward, currently powering DigitalHumanitiesNow.org, into four additional scholarly disciplines.

    To pioneer new methods for capturing and highlighting online scholarly materials in ways that are useful to research communities

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Berkeley
    amount: $176,062
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2011

    To support a pilot study to examine the microbial profiles found in the air, water, and surfaces of a neonatal intensive care unit and compare them to the microbial profiles from the gut of premature infants

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Jillian Banfield

    Babies are born sterile. The microbial ecosystem that thrives on and inside each of us-stomach bacteria that help us digest food, for instance-are acquired post-birth, presumably through contact with our mothers. But what of babies born prematurely, separated from their mothers, and treated in sterile neonatal intensive care units? How do these infants acquire the microbes needed to survive outside the womb? This grant supports the research of UC, Berkeley professor Jill Banfield, who is investigating this very question. In a one-year pilot study with collaborator Dr. Michael Morowitz of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Banfield will examine the microbial profiles of the air, water, and surfaces of a neonatal intensive care unit and compare the profiles to those found in the gut of three premature infants staying in the ICU. Using modern molecular tools, the research team will analyze the microbial profiles of the neonatal intensive care unit environments over time and space to potentially identify the sources of microbes involved in infant gut colonization.

    To support a pilot study to examine the microbial profiles found in the air, water, and surfaces of a neonatal intensive care unit and compare them to the microbial profiles from the gut of premature infants

    More
  • grantee: Film Independent, Inc.
    amount: $330,000
    city: Los Angeles, CA
    year: 2011

    To develop science scripts and support producing teams developing Sloan-worthy feature films

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Josh Welsh

    Funds from this three-year grant will support activities by Film Independent to develop science-themed film scripts and assist production teams developing science-themed feature films. Grant funds will primarily support two ongoing programs at Film Independent: the Sloan Producer's Grant program, which chooses one science script each year and develops it through a seven-week course of mentorship so that the project emerges with a realistic budget, schedule, and business plan; and the Fast Track program, which chooses exceptional science-themed film projects that are ready for financing and exposes them to more than 60 film financiers, production companies, and other industry professionals during an intensive series of meetings held at the Los Angeles Film festival. Also supported through this grant is an annual reception hosted by Film Independent at the Filmmaker Forum of the Director's Guild of America, where Sloan supported writers and directors are given special exposure to some 400 influential filmmakers and industry professionals.

    To develop science scripts and support producing teams developing Sloan-worthy feature films

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Berkeley
    amount: $836,849
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2011

    To develop solutions to copyright law obstacles facing public digital library initiatives and coordinate them with the Digital Public Library of America effort

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Universal Access to Knowledge
    • Investigator Pamela Samuelson

    Funds from this grant support a project by Professor Pamela Samuelson of the University of California, Berkeley Law School to develop practical solutions to the obstacles copyright law places in the way of the implementation of digital library initiatives. Samuelson and her research team will address several thorny issues, including orphan works, private ordering, collective licensing, digital lending, and metadata ownership, in an effort to develop fair and practical procedures for the successful implementation of library initiatives that seek to realize the full potential of digital libraries. Over two years, funds from this grant will support several white papers, workshops and conferences, and the crafting of model legislation. The work of Samuelson's team will also help inform the continued development of the Foundation-supported Digital Public Library of America.

    To develop solutions to copyright law obstacles facing public digital library initiatives and coordinate them with the Digital Public Library of America effort

    More
  • grantee: American Society for Engineering Education
    amount: $397,371
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2011

    To enable the American Society for Engineering Education to launch a program to routinely collect and report data on undergraduate engineering completion rates and time-to-degree

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Brian Yoder

    One of the objectives of our small program focusing on student retention in STEM disciplines at the undergraduate and graduate levels is to encourage universities to obtain and pay attention to data on the migration of their own students into and out of STEM disciplines. In the absence of such data, which most universities do not have, many campuses are either unaware of or ignore high net out-migration of students from their STEM departments. The result is wasted resources, underutilized faculty and facilities, and, depending on why students leave these disciplines, disappointed educational aspirations. Funds from this grant support a project by the American Society for Engineering Education to collect and report data on completion rates and time-to-degree in undergraduate engineering programs. Initial data collection will begin in the summer of 2012 with ASEE inviting all 380 U.S. engineering schools to participate. Data will be published in aggregate form, reporting separately on public and private institutions; schools that accept students as freshmen, sophomores, or juniors; and transfer and non-transfer students. The collected information will provide a rich dataset for scholarly analysis of student flows into and out of engineering.

    To enable the American Society for Engineering Education to launch a program to routinely collect and report data on undergraduate engineering completion rates and time-to-degree

    More
  • grantee: Yale University
    amount: $248,854
    city: New Haven, CT
    year: 2011

    To provide renewed support to examine the sources and character of airborne bacterial and fungal particles in the indoor environment

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Jordan Peccia

    This two-year grant to Yale University provides support to Professors Bill Nazaroff and Jordan Peccia to continue their ongoing work characterizing airborne microbial populations of indoor environments. The team will study the size distributions of bioaerosols from the indoor environment under occupied and unoccupied conditions. They will examine the sources, origins, and population characteristics of airborne bacteria and fungi in indoor settings that are attributable to human occupancy and collect and analyze air and dust samples from 10 different indoor environments-all elementary schools in the U.S., Germany, and China. Collected samples will help shed light on how airborne bacteria and fungi differ from other airborne particulate matter, how internal physical processes in indoor environments shape bacterial and fungal size distributions, and the role human occupants play in shaping microbial populations in indoor air.

    To provide renewed support to examine the sources and character of airborne bacterial and fungal particles in the indoor environment

    More
  • grantee: University of Ottawa
    amount: $599,150
    city: Ottawa, ON, Canada
    year: 2011

    To provide renewed support to develop fungal barcodes and use them to explore the indoor environment

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Keith Seifert

    This two-year grant will support an ambitious research agenda spearheaded by Dr. Keith Seifert of the University of Ottowa, and Dr. Robert Samson of the Dutch Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures to use advanced DNA sequencing technology to further advance our understanding of fungi and the role they play in the microbial ecosystems of indoor environments. Supported activities include the analysis of more than 6,000 new fungal cultures to provide detailed DNA sequence and taxonomic information, which Seifert and Samson expect to result in the discovery of 50 to 100 new species of fungi. In addition, Seifert and Samson will conduct further research on identifying regions of fungal DNA that can be appropriately used for species identification, as the current DNA region used for identification is effective in distinguishing only 72% of known fungal species. Funds from this grant will also support the education and training of one graduate student and two postdoctoral fellows.

    To provide renewed support to develop fungal barcodes and use them to explore the indoor environment

    More
  • grantee: The University of Chicago
    amount: $141,450
    city: Chicago, IL
    year: 2011

    To fund a pilot project to examine the microbiome associated with surfaces in the home

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Jack Gilbert

    Different parts of the body have different microbial profiles. The microorganisms that thrive in our underarms are different from those that live on our hands, which are different, in turn, from those that live on our scalp. Funds from this grant support a project by the University of Chicago's Jack Gilbert to investigate how these unique microbial profiles interact with the microbial populations of surfaces in the indoor environment. Gilbert will examine the microbial profiles associated with the dominant hand, the gut, and heel pad from 20 individuals in 10 homes. He will then compare these profiles to those found on door knobs, kitchen surfaces, bedroom and bathroom floors, and light switches following a move into a new home. These profiles will be examined every day for two weeks prior to moving and four weeks after moving to a new home, shedding light on whether the microbes found on people are transferred to the surfaces of their homes and, if so, whether the transferred microbes thrive in the new environments they find themselves in.

    To fund a pilot project to examine the microbiome associated with surfaces in the home

    More
  • grantee: National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, Inc.
    amount: $557,600
    city: White Plains, NY
    year: 2011

    To enable the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering to continue administering the Sloan Minority Ph.D. program and Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership program for an additional three years

    • Program Higher Education
    • Initiative Minority Ph.D.
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Aileen Walter

    The National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME) acts as the Foundation's agent in administering the Sloan Minority Ph.D. program and the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership. NACME receives applications from eligible students, awards Sloan scholarships, sends checks to students, receives and monitors students' reports on their spending and their academic progress, interacts regularly with the faculty who are key to our programs' success, disburses funds to participating university campuses and departments to help them with recruitment and retention activities, monitors the spending of these funds, maintains the database for these Foundation programs, and performs analysis of these data. This grant to NACME funds the administrative costs associated with these activities for the next three years.

    To enable the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering to continue administering the Sloan Minority Ph.D. program and Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership program for an additional three years

    More
  • grantee: Chemical Heritage Foundation
    amount: $255,000
    city: Philadelphia, PA
    year: 2011

    To increase awareness of the role of women in chemistry during the International Year of Chemistry

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program New Media
    • Investigator Denise Creedon

    Made in recognition of the International Year of Chemistry, this grant supports a year-long slate of activities planned by the Chemical Heritage Society (CHS) to inspire and educate the public about the critical role of chemistry and chemists in contemporary society and to increase public understanding of the role of women and minority women in chemistry. Activities supported under this grant include the recording, transcription, and editing of ten interviews with women chemists, the production of seven 12-to-15 minute web profiles of women in chemistry to be distributed online through the Chemical Heritage Society's website, and the inclusion of an additional section to the CHS website dedicated to the Women in Chemistry product. Additional funds are provided to allow CHS to develop and implement an outreach strategy to disseminate these new online materials widely through social media.

    To increase awareness of the role of women in chemistry during the International Year of Chemistry

    More
  • grantee: Boston College
    amount: $2,775,220
    city: Chestnut Hill, MA
    year: 2011

    For a renewal grant for the Boston College Center on Aging and Work

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes

    In a recent study, three out of four workers aged 50 or over, and who have never retired, report that they intend to work during retirement. Given the increasing presence of older workers, employers will be well-served to identify talent management strategies for maximizing the engagement and productivity of these workers. One way to maximize engagement and productivity is through providing employees with more autonomy over when, how, and where they work through the implementation of time and place management policies. This grant to the Boston College Center on Aging and Work supports a three-year research project to analyze the effects of such policies. The Boston College research team will partner with up to six major U.S. employers with labor forces larger than 10,000 employees to study the effects of implementing time and place management policies. The team will study the costs and benefits of such programs both for employers and employees, shedding light on how time and place management policies effect such metrics as worker productivity, absenteeism, turnover, and employee job satisfaction. The research has the potential to have wide-reaching impact as employers search for solutions on how to meet the diverse needs of an aging U.S. workforce.

    For a renewal grant for the Boston College Center on Aging and Work

    More
  • grantee: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    amount: $1,087,900
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2011

    To support fellowships for Ph.D. students working on the economics of working longer

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator David Card

    Funds from this grant will support the development and administration of a fellowship program aimed at encouraging young economists to work on understudied or poorly understood issues at the intersection of aging and work. Over the course of five years, eleven two-year fellowships will be awarded, providing a stipend and tuition support to qualified pre-doctoral students interested in studying the economics of labor market activity by older workers in the U.S. The fellowships will be administered by David Card, a leading labor economist and program director of NBER's Labor Studies Program.

    To support fellowships for Ph.D. students working on the economics of working longer

    More
  • grantee: University of Michigan
    amount: $4,398,616
    city: Ann Arbor, MI
    year: 2011

    To create and analyze datasets that combine the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) with data from the Census Bureau from the firms where HRS respondents have worked

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Margaret Levenstein

    Funded by the National Institute on Aging, the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) is a nationally representative panel study of Americans over the age of 50 and their spouses. Respondents are interviewed every two years. The core survey collects information on income and wealth, employment, pension plans and health insurance, physical health and functioning, cognition, expectations, preferences, demographics, family structure, and some biomarkers. Supplemental surveys of subsets of the respondents cover more extensive biological, cognitive, and genetic measures; consumption, education, and human capital; information technology use; prescription drug use; happiness and well being; and education and human capital expenditures. This grant will fund a project by a team of researchers led by Maggie Levenstein of the Michigan Census Research Data Center to link HRS data to the U.S. Business Register, a list of business establishments in the U.S. compiled and maintained by the U.S. Census Bureau. Successfully linking these two datasets will greatly increase the potential usefulness of the HRS, allowing researchers to measure how various health and wellness markers of older workers vary and correlate with the characteristics of the firms that employ them and opening new research possibilities in economics, psychology, organizational behavior, sociology, and demography. In addition to the work required to link the two datasets, funds will support the creation and dissemination of a publicly-available version of the new, linked dataset (suitably anonymized to protect the privacy of survey respondents), a series of papers conducting preliminary analysis of the data, and a conference to promote the new dataset and its use.

    To create and analyze datasets that combine the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) with data from the Census Bureau from the firms where HRS respondents have worked

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Los Angeles
    amount: $285,820
    city: Los Angeles, CA
    year: 2011

    To improve our understanding of how intergenerational support for parents, adult children, and grandchildren influences labor supply of older adults nearing retirement

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Judith Seltzer

    Men and women nearing retirement often experience multiple family obligations-to aging parents, to spouses, to adult children, and to young grandchildren-yet there is little research on how these obligations affect the labor market activities of older Americans. This grant aims to address this gap in our understanding by supporting work by Dr. Suzanne Bianchi of UCLA and Dr. Emily Weimers of the University of Michigan to study how family obligations affect the labor market behavior of older workers. Using the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, a nationally representative longitudinal sample of over 18,000 individuals from 5,000 families across the U.S., Bianchi and Weimers will address the following questions: 1. How does the need for or the need for financial support-of parents,spouses, adult children, and grandchildren-affect current labor force behavior (including labor force participation and hours worked) of men and women in late middle ages and early older ages? Is there any variance across cohorts? 2. Do people with considerable demands from family stop working or work less, or do people who have always worked less care more for family members?

    To improve our understanding of how intergenerational support for parents, adult children, and grandchildren influences labor supply of older adults nearing retirement

    More
  • grantee: American Indian College Fund
    amount: $300,000
    city: Denver, CO
    year: 2011

    To increase the number of faculty who possess graduate degrees in mathematics, natural science, and engineering at tribal colleges and universities

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Dennis Carder

    A large fraction of American Indian students begin their college careers at one of the thirty-three accredited Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs). These institutions, most of which are associated with a particular tribe or set of tribes, are relatively new. Although most still provide only two-year degrees and certificates, others now offer a growing variety of four-year degrees and some offer master's degrees. Because of the important role of the TCUs in the education of Indian students, including those who major in STEM disciplines and go on to graduate work, it is important that these institutions' STEM faculty be capable of excellent teaching and guiding student research. Currently, approximately 28% of the 152 STEM faculty at TCUs have bachelor's degrees, 40% have master's degrees or are Ph.D. candidates, and 22% have doctorate degrees. An ongoing program funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation provides scholarships to TCU faculty who are within one year of finishing their Ph.D. degrees with the understanding that these faculty would remain at their TCU institution for at least two years after earning their degree. Though the Mellon program has been successful in encouraging TCU faculty to finish graduate work (18 of 20 supported students have completed their Ph.D.) the supported faculty have largely come from fields outside science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, with only two of the twenty supported fellows coming from STEM fields. Funds from this grant will provide monies to expand and supplement Mellon's successful program, administered by the American Indian College Fund, to more aggressively recruit and support faculty from STEM disciplines.

    To increase the number of faculty who possess graduate degrees in mathematics, natural science, and engineering at tribal colleges and universities

    More
  • grantee: WGBH Educational Foundation
    amount: $600,000
    city: Boston, MA
    year: 2011

    To research, produce, and broadcast a one-hour PBS Frontline documentary about the implications of the Fukushima accident for the future of nuclear power in the U.S.

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Television
    • Investigator Jon Palfreman

    Funds from this grant provide support for a one-hour documentary, to be produced and broadcast by the influential PBS documentary series Frontline, about the repercussions of Fukushima Daichi nuclear accident caused by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami off the coast of Japan. Starting with an analysis of what went wrong at Fukushima, the program will track the still-developing story and critically evaluate the implications for U.S. nuclear safety and for the future of nuclear energy in the U.S. Using a mixture of archival footage, location shooting in the U.S., Japan, and China, interviews with scientific and technical experts, politicians, policymakers and citizens, the documentary will seek to present a measured, fair, and factually-based analysis of one of the many major policy choices of our time. To ensure accuracy, the production team will draw on a scientific board of advisors who will provide expert guidance and information.

    To research, produce, and broadcast a one-hour PBS Frontline documentary about the implications of the Fukushima accident for the future of nuclear power in the U.S.

    More
  • grantee: Research Foundation of the City University of New York
    amount: $1,075,968
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2011

    To encourage and support promising early career scientists at both student and faculty levels through two awards programs: a Summer Undergraduate Research program and a Junior Faculty Fellowship program

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Gillian Small

    Funds from this grant support two programs at the City University of New York aimed at supporting faculty and students in STEM disciplines. The first, CUNY's Summer Research Program, provides interested undergraduates with the opportunity to engage in hands-on, in-the-lab science, assisting CUNY science faculty with ongoing research projects during the summer. Grant funds will support 10 students in each of 2012, 2013, and 2014, providing a housing allowance and a living stipend. The second supported program under this grant is CUNY's Junior Faculty Fellowship Program, which aims to support promising early-career STEM faculty at CUNY by providing a $50,000 fellowship for use in research. Over the course of the next three years, eight faculty will receive fellowships through this grant.

    To encourage and support promising early career scientists at both student and faculty levels through two awards programs: a Summer Undergraduate Research program and a Junior Faculty Fellowship program

    More
  • grantee: George Mason University
    amount: $379,704
    city: Fairfax, VA
    year: 2011

    To provide updated software, data, and education that facilitate public participation in the redistricting of New York State

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Michael McDonald

    This grant provides funds for a project by George Mason University to facilitate use of District Builder, a free, open-source software platform that allows citizens to draw, share, and submit their own congressional redistricting maps, in New York State. Partnering with New York's Fordham University, the George Mason team will further develop and improve the District Builder platform, populate it with relevant demographic and legal data specific to New York, launch and maintain a public website to host the District Builder platform aimed at New York residents, and engage in a series of educational and outreach initiatives, including a Fordham-sponsored competition that will encourage students to submit redistricting maps drawn using District Builder and have their submissions ranked against a set of objective, measurable criteria, with the winning map to be submitted to the New York State legislature for consideration in its redistricting decisions.

    To provide updated software, data, and education that facilitate public participation in the redistricting of New York State

    More
  • grantee: Columbia University
    amount: $3,800
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2011

    To support a community forum to bring together stakeholders such as scientists, journal editors, funding agencies, to discuss the reproducibility in the computational sciences

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Victoria Stodden

    To support a community forum to bring together stakeholders such as scientists, journal editors, funding agencies, to discuss the reproducibility in the computational sciences

    More
  • grantee: Brooklyn Academy of Music
    amount: $20,000
    city: Brooklyn, NY
    year: 2011

    To support BAM’s special 150th anniversary exhibition on the Shackleton Trans-Antarctic Expedition with enhanced scientific context

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program New Media
    • Investigator Violaine Huisman

    To support BAM’s special 150th anniversary exhibition on the Shackleton Trans-Antarctic Expedition with enhanced scientific context

    More
  • grantee: Technology Affinity Group
    amount: $5,000
    city: Wayne, PA
    year: 2011

    Membership Dues 2011

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Lisa Pool

    Membership Dues 2011

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Irvine
    amount: $119,756
    city: Irvine, CA
    year: 2011

    To evaluate how public access to mapping software and data, including initiatives supported by Foundation grants, impacts the redistricting process

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Investigator Bernard Grofman

    To evaluate how public access to mapping software and data, including initiatives supported by Foundation grants, impacts the redistricting process

    More
  • grantee: Columbia University
    amount: $124,948
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2011

    To conduct behavioral research on decision-making by consumers that informs the design of health insurance exchanges

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Eric Johnson

    To conduct behavioral research on decision-making by consumers that informs the design of health insurance exchanges

    More
  • grantee: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
    amount: $19,800
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2011

    To fund the travel of American Participants in a conference on reprocessing in Northeast Asia to be hosted by the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Lora Saalman

    To fund the travel of American Participants in a conference on reprocessing in Northeast Asia to be hosted by the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association

    More
  • grantee: New Venture Fund
    amount: $124,781
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2011

    To study financial institutions' use of obfuscation in marketing credit cards to consumers

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Rachael Raab

    To study financial institutions' use of obfuscation in marketing credit cards to consumers

    More
  • grantee: MentorNet
    amount: $60,000
    city: Sunnyvale, CA
    year: 2011

    To develop and launch a campaign on web-based social channels to recruit students directly into MentorNet's mentoring program

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator David Porush

    To develop and launch a campaign on web-based social channels to recruit students directly into MentorNet's mentoring program

    More
  • grantee: The Brookings Institution
    amount: $19,616
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2011

    To hold a meeting to assess the current state of research in industrial organization and to explore ways to make the field more engaged with live empirical and policy issues

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Clifford Winston

    To hold a meeting to assess the current state of research in industrial organization and to explore ways to make the field more engaged with live empirical and policy issues

    More
  • grantee: Council on Foundations, Inc.
    amount: $45,000
    city: Arlington, VA
    year: 2011

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Keith Greene

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    More
  • grantee: Independent Sector
    amount: $17,500
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2011

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Kris Prendergast

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    More
  • grantee: Philanthropy New York
    amount: $24,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2011

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Ronna Brown

    To support work on behalf of the nonprofit and charitable community

    More
  • grantee: Council on Library and Information Resources
    amount: $117,567
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2011

    To address the need for sound data management practice throughout the academy by means of a research project aimed at identifying alternative ways to build the professional capacity to handle digital data

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Charles Henry

    To address the need for sound data management practice throughout the academy by means of a research project aimed at identifying alternative ways to build the professional capacity to handle digital data

    More
  • grantee: The Alexandria Archive Institute
    amount: $109,850
    city: San Francisco, CA
    year: 2011

    To promote greater professional acceptance and recognition for scientific data dissemination by developing editorial processes that enhance data quality and usability

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Eric Kansa

    To promote greater professional acceptance and recognition for scientific data dissemination by developing editorial processes that enhance data quality and usability

    More
  • grantee: Stuart Firestein
    amount: $40,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2011

    For research and writing of a book on the value of ignorance in science

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Stuart Firestein

    For research and writing of a book on the value of ignorance in science

    More
  • grantee: New Media Studio
    amount: $32,450
    city: Santa Barbara, CA
    year: 2011

    To build and test an open-source, active archiving service for science/engineering meeting posters

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Bruce Caron

    To build and test an open-source, active archiving service for science/engineering meeting posters

    More
  • grantee: Clean Air Task Force
    amount: $248,832
    city: Boston, MA
    year: 2011

    To organize the formulation of a study group, a research framework, and a request-for-proposals to investigate the energy efficiency paradox

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Steven Brick

    Economists have been talking about the "Energy Efficiency Paradox" for nearly twenty years. The puzzle is why so few people take simple steps-such as replacing inefficient light bulbs or fixing home insulation-that engineers and other experts assure us would save energy, save money, and perhaps even help save the planet. Funds from this grant will support a project by Stephen Brick, Armond Cohen, and Joseph Chaisson of the Clean Air Task Force to start a process for studying the Energy Efficiency Paradox systematically, comprehensively, theoretically, empirically, and impartially. Their first step will be to survey what is known, unknown, and unknowable about the energy efficiency paradox. This will be accomplished in cooperation with a group of experts they will convene, including not just economists but also other social scientists, policymakers, marketers, and industry experts. Based on the survey findings, the main task for that group will be to develop and publish an overall conceptual framework for organizing research on energy efficiency. The focus will be on end-user efficiency decisions concerning residential and commercial buildings and will include considerations about costs and benefits, engineering and behavior, trends and uncertainties, finance and discounting, technology and regulation, etc. The expert group's output will also include a draft "Request for Proposals." This document, when circulated together with the framing paper, would ask appropriate research institutions to formulate plans and projects that the Sloan Foundation and others might consider for future funding to help resolve the fundamental questions this project will identify about energy efficiency and its supposed paradoxes.

    To organize the formulation of a study group, a research framework, and a request-for-proposals to investigate the energy efficiency paradox

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Berkeley
    amount: $270,250
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2011

    To collect and analyze experimental data for powerful statistical tests of how weatherization affects household energy efficiency

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Catherine Wolfram

    In the United States, buildings account for about 39% of all energy use, 68% of all electricity consumption, and 38% of all carbon dioxide emissions. Engineers estimate that retrofits for weatherizing built environments can substantially reduce waste enough to quickly pay for themselves, while also helping to decrease energy consumption and curb carbon emissions. But given the chance to save money and energy this way, the conventional wisdom is that many individuals and businesses do not take full advantage of energy efficiency investments that can save them money in the long run. The Sloan Foundation has begun funding work on this important issue by different kinds of researchers, ranging from behavioral economists to environmental engineers. Sloan funds have also helped launch the first large-scale randomized experiment to study weatherization programs. Based at the University of California, Berkeley, this pilot project has already discovered unexpected evidence that low-income homeowners are even less willing to take advantage of weatherization programs than previously thought. Moreover, such reluctance remains strong even among homeowners randomly chosen to receive encouragement and help with the process of weatherization. One implication of this finding is that the pilot study as originally planned will not have enough "statistical power" to justify robust policy conclusions. In order to refine the statistical validity of the findings, a larger sample of households is needed. Funds from this grant will support efforts by the University of California, Berkeley team to strengthen their experimental design and expand the number of households surveyed, allowing for more robust statistical conclusions that have the potential to appropriately shape policy discussions about energy utilization.

    To collect and analyze experimental data for powerful statistical tests of how weatherization affects household energy efficiency

    More
  • grantee: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    amount: $392,955
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2011

    To advance understanding of household financial behavior and policy

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Brigitte Madrian

    The study of markets for mortgages, credit cards, annuities, and other consumer financial products was neither organized nor widely recognized as an academic research field of its own before the subprime mortgage crisis began in 2007. Since then, the Sloan Foundation has staked out a coherent role in helping establish such a field by funding research on topics that range from retirement planning to energy efficient home improvement investments. Funds from this grant will provide continued support to one of the main components of Sloan's strategy for advancing the study of consumer financial product : The Household Finance Working Group (Working Group) based at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Launched in December 2009, the Household Finance Working Group organizes workshops, hosts conferences, and commissions research on the economics of household finance. Activities funded through this grant include two conferences, one to be held in Washington to provide policy perspectives, and another to be held jointly with the Sloan/Russell Sage Working Group on Behavioral Economics and Consumer Financial Markets. Also supported are attempts to build up the field of household finance by expanding support for research projects conducted by graduate students and young faculty.

    To advance understanding of household financial behavior and policy

    More
  • grantee: Wellesley College
    amount: $308,075
    city: Wellesley, MA
    year: 2011

    To examine how firms shape the immigration of scientists, engineers, and other highly skilled workers to the United States

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Sari Kerr

    When scientists and engineers immigrate to the United States, is it an important and enabling enhancement for our high-tech economy, or does it discourage and displace natives who would otherwise fill the jobs that these foreigners take? There is no shortage of entrenched views and vehement arguments on all sides of such questions. Though very little reputable research had been done on this subject not so many years ago, now immigration policy for highly skilled workers has become a controversial and polarizing topic among both politicians and academics. What is needed are dispassionate empirical studies of how the immigration of highly skilled workers can affect wages, employment, innovation, and productivity. This grant will support the work of Sari and William Kerr, rare examples of immigration researchers who are themselves highly skilled, but who are not readily associated with any political, methodological, or ideological camps. Rather, they have a reputation for working with interesting data, then letting the results fall where they may and speak for themselves. Their research under this grant will make pioneering use of sophisticated datasets that have only recently become available, including the Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics (LEHD) files now maintained by the U.S. Census Bureau. Their work will be the first study of highly skilled immigration based on data and analysis at the firm level. The project will also address the question of whether firms are substituting younger highly skilled immigrants for older highly skilled native workers.

    To examine how firms shape the immigration of scientists, engineers, and other highly skilled workers to the United States

    More
  • grantee: University of Texas, Austin
    amount: $1,501,154
    city: Austin, TX
    year: 2011

    To determine the capability of U.S. shale gas to contribute significantly to natural gas supply over the next twenty years, given various assumptions about natural gas prices

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Initiative Shale Gas
    • Investigator Scott Tinker

    Though new technology has recently led to a huge increase in the estimates of the amount of natural gas that can be produced economically from U.S. shale deposits, detailed objective analysis of how much gas can actually be produced from these deposits has not yet been done. This grant to the University of Texas at Austin's Bureau of Economic Geology (BEG) will support just such an analysis. BEG will obtain government and company data-some public and some proprietary-on all existing gas wells in the five major shale gas regions of the United States and use these data to perform a well-by-well analysis of production capacity. Although the BEG project will not cover all shale regions, the ones included are expected to yield the lion's share of shale gas over the next 20 years, the time horizon for the study. BEG will also quantify the needs for land and water use to enable various levels of shale gas production to be achieved.

    To determine the capability of U.S. shale gas to contribute significantly to natural gas supply over the next twenty years, given various assumptions about natural gas prices

    More
  • grantee: Carnegie Institution of Washington
    amount: $1,499,995
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2011

    To initiate the Reservoirs and Fluxes directorate of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Erik Hauri

    Established in June 2009, the Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO) aims to address two fundamental questions: the origins, abundance, and distribution of hydrocarbons (including so-called fossil fuels) and the origins of life, for which carbon is the key element. The DCO has organized itself into four "directorates", each tasked with executing a different element of the DCO's ambitious research agenda. In October 2010, the Foundation supported the launch of the DCO's first directorate, on deep life. This grant will fund the operation of the second directorate, on deep carbon reservoirs and fluxes. The ambitious aim of the Reservoirs and Fluxes directorate is to integrate, in an unprecedented way, an interdisciplinary group of researchers to study of the upper part of Earth's deep carbon cycle (about 400 kilometers). In a series of simultaneous research projects, the directorate will engage an international group of researchers to conduct fundamental field, laboratory, and modeling research tracing the origin of carbon at the global mid-ocean ridge system, the addition of carbon to oceanic plates, the subduction of carbon at subduction zones, the release of carbon-bearing fluids in the shallow mantle, the delivery of carbon to sources of subduction zone magmatism, and the emission of carbon from convergent margin volcanoes.

    To initiate the Reservoirs and Fluxes directorate of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    More
  • grantee: Institute of International Education
    amount: $750,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2011

    To provide life-saving fellowships and academic placements for persecuted scholars so they can continue their work before returning to their native countries when it is safe to do so

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Jim Miller

    This three-year grant to the Institute of International Education (IIE) will support its important humanitarian work rescuing endangered scientists, engineers, and mathematicians through the Scholar Rescue Fund (SRF). As a result of their academic work, scholars and intellectuals-professors, teachers, researchers, writers-often come under attack in repressive regimes where freedom of thought and freedom of speech pose a challenge to authoritarian rule. In 2002, the IIE-which also runs international scholarship programs like the Fulbright-established the Scholar Rescue Fund as a permanent agency to help scholars anywhere in the world. The idea was to establish an around-the-clock, year-round operation that could swiftly relocate threatened scholars to safe locations in other countries where they could continue their academic work-and ideally, return to their original countries when conditions improved. Since 2002, SRF has provided safe haven to 400 threatened scholars worldwide. Funds from this grant will provide for the relocation and safe shelter of an additional 40 scholars in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields.

    To provide life-saving fellowships and academic placements for persecuted scholars so they can continue their work before returning to their native countries when it is safe to do so

    More
  • grantee: National Academy of Sciences
    amount: $281,258
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2011

    To develop, analyze, and promote standards for the citation and attribution of data sets by research communities

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Paul Uhlir

    Progress in science depends critically on a familiar but delicate system that rewards citations and priority. Scientists are rewarded for discovering something first, and they are rewarded for writing something that other scientists frequently reference. Though this familiar system provides well established norms for the citation of scholarly articles, there are not similarly accepted norms for citing scientific datasets. Funds from this grant will support a project by the National Research Council's Board on Research Data and Information to address how to attribute and cite scientific datasets. The Board will establish a steering committee to examine practices and standards, to hold a symposium and workshop, and to organize a joint series of meetings in cooperation with the CODATA-ICSTI Task Group on Data Citation Practices.

    To develop, analyze, and promote standards for the citation and attribution of data sets by research communities

    More
  • grantee: Wikimedia Foundation
    amount: $3,000,000
    city: San Francisco, CA
    year: 2011

    To help Wikipedia develop and sustain its educational mission while constantly improving quality, diversity, and access to knowledge for people everywhere

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Universal Access to Knowledge
    • Investigator Erik Moller

    Funds from this grant provide continued support to the Wikimedia Foundation, which owns and operates Wikipedia, in its efforts to professionalize and sustain itself organizationally while improving the quality of Wikipedia articles. Wikimedia's ambitious goals in the next five years are to increase the number of people served to one billion; to increase the number of articles to 50 million; to review 25% of all articles to insure accurate, quality information; to double the number of editors to 200,000; and to double the number of women editors and contributors from the developing world. Funds will support efforts to improve article quality by partnering with professors and universities and encouraging students to create or improve articles in their area of expertise. Also supported through this grant is a Wikimedia project to convert its most talented volunteers into paid fellows through a fellowship program focused on research, existing program work, and new high impact work. Wikimedia is also undertaking an aggressive, high profile campaign to attract more women contributors. Finally, Wikipedia will use some of the Foundation's support to develop its relationship with the cultural sector by working with its 30 worldwide chapters to foster partnerships with galleries, libraries, archives, museums, and educational institutions.

    To help Wikipedia develop and sustain its educational mission while constantly improving quality, diversity, and access to knowledge for people everywhere

    More
  • grantee: Tribeca Film Institute
    amount: $330,700
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2011

    To hold the triennial Sloan Film Summit, developing the community and highlighting the achievements of Sloan's Film Program including six film schools, four screenplay development programs, three film festivals, and associated film and theater artists

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Beth Janson

    This grant to the Tribeca Film Institute (TFI) provides funds for the fifth triennial Sloan Film Summit in New York City in 2011. The summit is an important community-building event that brings together prize-winning students, faculty, and administration from the Foundation's six film school partners as well as screenwriters, filmmakers, and administrators from Sloan's four screenplay development and film festival partners: Sundance, Tribeca, Hamptons, and Film Independent. Funded summit activities include an opening night reception; a screening of award-winning shorts from each film school; screenplay readings of award-winning scripts with accomplished actors; panels on science, film, and new media that bring together notable scientists and filmmakers; a meeting of Film program administrators; and an industry meetings where filmmakers meet and pitch their films to leading members of the film industry. Among the key materials that will come out of the summit are a compilation DVD of award-winning shorts and a hard book and an iPhone/iPad application that lists all the screenplay and film projects of the past three years with bios and contact information for the filmmakers to be distributed to agents, managers, and development executives.

    To hold the triennial Sloan Film Summit, developing the community and highlighting the achievements of Sloan's Film Program including six film schools, four screenplay development programs, three film festivals, and associated film and theater artists

    More
  • grantee: Columbia University
    amount: $150,108
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2011

    For a pilot production grant to encourage the next generation of filmmakers to incorporate science and technology themes into storytelling for the World Wide Web

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Evangeline Morphos

    This 18-month grant to Columbia University, one of the Foundation's six film school partners, will fund a pilot project which aims to encourage science and technology storytelling through the World Wide Web. Guided by Columbia faculty, film students will experiment with the possibilities of new media by creating a 20-40 minute web series, told in three to eight minute narrative episodes (webisodes) with science and technology themes and characters that will reach new audiences. The production awards are open to Columbia students in the third to fifth year who have finished their courses, previously shot a completed film, and have exhibited innovative approaches to the challenges of web storytelling. Five teams will be awarded grants of $14,000 each to work on individual webisodes that will form part of a single web series. Students will work closely with film faculty and a science advisor, and grant funds will be paid out in stages based on adherence to a strict production schedule. Once finished, the web series will be entered into festivals and new media competitions, released on the internet, and distributed virally.

    For a pilot production grant to encourage the next generation of filmmakers to incorporate science and technology themes into storytelling for the World Wide Web

    More
  • grantee: University of Washington
    amount: $671,781
    city: Seattle, WA
    year: 2011

    To assess improvements resulting from and analyzing data collected by the Project to Assess Climate in Engineering (PACE)

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Suzanne Brainard

    In October 2006, the Foundation approved a five-year grant to the University of Washington to enable Suzanne Brainard and her colleagues to assess the climate for women and underrepresented minority undergraduates in engineering schools across the country. Twenty-one engineering schools fully participated in the climate assessment-the Project to Assess Climate in Engineering (PACE)- 16 at public universities and 5 at private universities, accounting for 18 percent of the full-time engineering enrollments nationwide. Of these, 15 created and implemented action plans to make improvements based on the recommendations of the study. Funds from this grant will support the continuation PACE for three purposes: 1. Resurvey students in the 21 schools, compare the new responses to the pre-intervention responses, and analyze the results in light of the particular interventions made by each school. 2. Conduct focus groups involving approximately 40 students on each campus that administers the resurvey. 3. Code and analyze rich transcripts of student interviews that were conducted during the PACE project.

    To assess improvements resulting from and analyzing data collected by the Project to Assess Climate in Engineering (PACE)

    More
  • grantee: University of Colorado, Boulder
    amount: $124,121
    city: Boulder, CO
    year: 2011

    To conduct a pilot study to examine the diversity and structure of bacterial communities in kitchens

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Noah Fierer

    This grant will fund the efforts by Noah Fierer, a young researcher at the University of Colorado, Boulder, to examine the diversity and structure of microbial communities in kitchens. Fierer-in collaboration with his colleague Rob Knight-plans to collect samples from twelve residential kitchens to determine the geographical distribution of microbial communities and to track the movements of the communities across kitchen surfaces. He plans to collect samples from a number of kitchen surfaces before and after meal preparation and collect samples from a variety of foods that were used to prepare the meal. DNA will be isolated from the samples and then amplified, sequenced, and analyzed using bio-informatic tools.

    To conduct a pilot study to examine the diversity and structure of bacterial communities in kitchens

    More
  • grantee: National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, Inc.
    amount: $3,768,800
    city: White Plains, NY
    year: 2011

    To fund new obligations in the Minority Ph.D. Program and the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership program from July 1, 2011 to July 1, 2012

    • Program Higher Education
    • Initiative Minority Ph.D.
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Aileen Walter

    This grant to the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME) will fund new scholarship obligations in the Foundation's Minority Ph.D. program (MPHD) and the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership (SIGP) that are expected to be incurred between July 1, 2011 and June 30, 2012. NACME, the Foundation's longtime agent in administering these programs, receives and processes scholarship applications, selects students for scholarships, administers the awards, and supports recruitment efforts by faculty at participating colleges and universities. Funds from this grant will support 93 scholarships for minority students entering the Minority Ph.D. program in AY 2011-12 and 26 scholarships for students entering the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership in AY 2011-12.

    To fund new obligations in the Minority Ph.D. Program and the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership program from July 1, 2011 to July 1, 2012

    More
  • grantee: Museum of Mathematics
    amount: $401,461
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2011

    To equip science festivals with portable, interactive, and hands-on mathematical activities

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program New Media
    • Investigator Glen Whitney

    Each year since 2009, visitors to the World Science Festival's Street Fair in New York City have experienced the Math Midway, a large and crowded carnival filled with mathematical toys and activities such as square-wheeled bicycles you can ride on a cycloidal track and plastic polyhedral solids that reveal surprising cross sections when you shine laser light through them. The Math Midway is one of many successful components unique to the World Science Festival, which the Sloan Foundation helped launch though its program on the Public Understanding of Science and Technology. Most science festivals struggle to present any kind of compelling mathematical content at all. The creators of Math Midway would now like to share what they have built, as well as what they have learned, with science festival planners and participants throughout the country. Funds from this grant will support efforts by Museum of Mathematics founder Glen Whitney to develop up to 20 portable versions of the Math Midway exhibitions that can travel to science and mathematics festivals across the country. The Science Festival Alliance, a Sloan Foundation grantee, has already arranged for these exhibits to be displayed and tested by organizations operating under its umbrella, including science festivals in San Diego, Philadelphia, Harlem, Cambridge, and the Bay Area. The project will also train local mathematicians to staff these exhibitions. Independent evaluation of the construction, deployment, and reception of the first six such kits is also part of the project plan under this grant, and will help clarify what works and what next steps might make sense going forward to enhance public engagement with mathematics.

    To equip science festivals with portable, interactive, and hands-on mathematical activities

    More
  • grantee: Michigan State University
    amount: $419,203
    city: East Lansing, MI
    year: 2011

    To fill a gap in research by investigating how the "employment environment" promotes or impedes the ability of individuals to remain at work past traditional ages of retirement

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Peter Berg

    Much of the empirical research on aging and work actually focuses on aging and "end of work"-retirement. Significantly less research has been conducted on how the non-financial, as well as financial, conditions of work affect the decision to stay in the labor force beyond conventional retirement. To address this, Michican State University professor Peter Berg and his colleagues Chris Ruhm and Mary Hamman intend to assess how the "employment environment," defined to include characteristics of the job, employer, and the industry, facilitates or impedes individuals' abilities to work past conventional retirement age. To conduct their analysis, Berg and his team will rely on a uniquely rich German dataset, which includes detailed questions regarding the employment environment and contains extensive data on such relevant factors as staffing patterns, scheduling, hours of work, modifications to jobs demands, financial information, and turnover. Funds from this grant will support this research. The results of this study will likely shed light on the kinds of variables that could in the future be included in U.S. survey instruments, such as the Health and Retirement Study and could be important in identifying what U.S. employers might consider doing in order to keep employees working past age 65.

    To fill a gap in research by investigating how the "employment environment" promotes or impedes the ability of individuals to remain at work past traditional ages of retirement

    More
  • grantee: RAND Corporation
    amount: $609,511
    city: Santa Monica, CA
    year: 2011

    To understand the role of employers in facilitating or impeding continued employment of older workers following onset of a work-limiting disability

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Nicole Maestas

    The viability of the current Social Security system and its need for reform has been a topic of recent public and political concern. What has not been getting comparable public or political attention, however, is the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program, which provides benefits to American workers who suffer from disabilities. SSDI's eligibility rules act as a major disincentive for continued employment for those applying for its benefits, since they provide income support and Medicare coverage to individuals with work-limiting disabilities only if they do not engage in substantial gainful employment. Yet despite this disincentive, some disabled workers continue working in some capacity. Funds from this grant will support research by the RAND Corporation to advance our understanding of how employer practices affect workers' continued employment after the onset of a work-limiting disability. Questions to be addressed by this research include: 1. How does workplace accommodation (with regard to how, when, and where work is done) affect the duration of continuing employment by an older worker following onset of disability? 2. How does health insurance coverage (availability, continuity, and source) and pension coverage (type and eligibility ages) affect the duration of continuing employment by an older worker following onset of disability? This project will rely on the longitudinal, cross-sectional data of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), which has detailed questions on health insurance, as well as employer accommodations, including work schedules and work modifications.

    To understand the role of employers in facilitating or impeding continued employment of older workers following onset of a work-limiting disability

    More
  • grantee: University of Alaska, Anchorage
    amount: $144,000
    city: Anchorage, AK
    year: 2011

    To fund for an additional three years the recruitment and retention portion of the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership program at the University of Alaska

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Herb Schroeder

    This grant provides partial support to the University of Alaska, Anchorage for activities designed to recruit and retain indigenous graduate students in STEM disciplines as part of the university's participation in the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership (SIGP) . This is the second three-year grant to the University of Alaska fund these activities. Principal Investigator Herb Schroeder and his staff had considerable success during their first grant, recruiting 26 students compared to an expectation of 18. Attrition has also been low, with the Alaska programs having lost only one M.S. and one Ph.D. student so far. Schroeder expects to recruit seven new students annually over the next three years. Some of the activities supported through this grant include cross-cultural training for faculty and staff who work with native graduate students, weekly team meetings, a recitation session devoted to strengthening the academic skills need to successfully complete graduate work, and workshops for helping students with professional networking, grant writing, and serving as an effective teaching assistant.

    To fund for an additional three years the recruitment and retention portion of the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership program at the University of Alaska

    More
  • grantee: WGBH Educational Foundation
    amount: $2,500,000
    city: Boston, MA
    year: 2011

    To research and produce four hours of documentaries on the role of science and technology in history for The American Experience with ancillary outreach including two interactive games and marketing campaign

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Television
    • Investigator Mark Samels

    Funds from this grant support the development, production, and broadcast of three science-and-technology-themed documentaries by the PBS series American Experience. The three proposed documentaries include: "The Poisoner's Handbook," based on Deborah Blum's Foundation-supported book about the birth of toxicology and forensic science in the Jazz Age and how new crime-fighting techniques led to improvements in safety; "Robert Noyce, the Integrated Circuit and the Birth of Silicon Valley," based on Leslie Berlin's The Man Behind the Microchip: Robert Noyce and the Invention of Silicon Valley, a formative tale about one of the most important inventions of the twentieth century that has received relatively little exposure in the mass media; and "The Grand Coulee Dam" about the damming of the Columbia River-at the time, the largest concrete structure ever built-which transformed the Pacific Northwest. In addition, American Experience is proposing two interactive games to accompany the broadcast of "The Poisoner's Handbook."

    To research and produce four hours of documentaries on the role of science and technology in history for The American Experience with ancillary outreach including two interactive games and marketing campaign

    More
  • grantee: Institute for New Economic Thinking
    amount: $15,108
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2011

    To support the participation of students in a major international conference on new economic thinking

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Robert Johnson

    To support the participation of students in a major international conference on new economic thinking

    More
  • grantee: Film Independent, Inc.
    amount: $35,000
    city: Los Angeles, CA
    year: 2011

    To expedite one science and technology film into production with a Fast Track fellowship

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Josh Welsh

    To expedite one science and technology film into production with a Fast Track fellowship

    More
  • grantee: Fred Friendly Seminars, Inc.
    amount: $19,095
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2011

    To rebroadcast the program Minds on the Edge: Facing Mental Illness, to publicize available resources, and to encourage dialogue about the mental health care system

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Television
    • Investigator Richard Kilberg

    To rebroadcast the program Minds on the Edge: Facing Mental Illness, to publicize available resources, and to encourage dialogue about the mental health care system

    More
  • grantee: Arizona State University
    amount: $15,000
    city: Tempe, AZ
    year: 2011

    To provide travel support for attendees at a conference on macroeconomic theory and environmental issues

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator V. Smith

    To provide travel support for attendees at a conference on macroeconomic theory and environmental issues

    More
  • grantee: San Diego State University
    amount: $125,000
    city: San Diego, CA
    year: 2011

    To conduct a pilot study to examine workplace environments using viral metagenomic analysis

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Scott Kelley

    To conduct a pilot study to examine workplace environments using viral metagenomic analysis

    More
  • grantee: American Physical Society
    amount: $18,900
    city: College Park, MD
    year: 2011

    To increase awareness of the contributions to physics of women physicists

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Theodore Hodapp

    To increase awareness of the contributions to physics of women physicists

    More
  • grantee: Smithsonian Institution
    amount: $60,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2011

    To conduct international dialogues, especially for the Americas, and related activities to explore the feasibility of an international academic network for measurement and monitoring of the world's forests

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Initiative Forests
    • Investigator Leonard Hirsch

    To conduct international dialogues, especially for the Americas, and related activities to explore the feasibility of an international academic network for measurement and monitoring of the world's forests

    More
  • grantee: University of Leeds
    amount: $60,000
    city: Leeds, United Kingdom
    year: 2011

    To conduct international, especially European, dialogues and related activities to explore the feasibility of an international academic network for measurement and monitoring of the world's forests

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Initiative Forests
    • Investigator Alan Grainger

    To conduct international, especially European, dialogues and related activities to explore the feasibility of an international academic network for measurement and monitoring of the world's forests

    More
  • grantee: The Internet Archive
    amount: $58,828
    city: San Francisco, CA
    year: 2011

    To support a summit on Linked Open Data in Libraries, Archives, and Museums (LOD-LAM), as well as dissemination of proceedings and outreach around pilot use cases

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Data & Computational Research
    • Investigator Kris Negulescu

    To support a summit on Linked Open Data in Libraries, Archives, and Museums (LOD-LAM), as well as dissemination of proceedings and outreach around pilot use cases

    More
  • grantee: Azavea, Inc.
    amount: $124,916
    city: Philadelphia, PA
    year: 2011

    To ready public mapping prototype software for open use in the redistricting process

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Investigator Robert Cheetham

    To ready public mapping prototype software for open use in the redistricting process

    More
  • grantee: Ed Regis
    amount: $40,800
    city: Sabillasville, MD
    year: 2011

    For research and writing of a book on genomic engineering with George Church

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Ed Regis

    For research and writing of a book on genomic engineering with George Church

    More
  • grantee: Michigan State University
    amount: $49,900
    city: East Lansing, MI
    year: 2011

    To produce an edited volume and build a community of international scholars focused on an international comparative analysis of the impact of working-time configurations on older workers

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Peter Berg

    To produce an edited volume and build a community of international scholars focused on an international comparative analysis of the impact of working-time configurations on older workers

    More
  • grantee: WNET
    amount: $45,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2011

    To produce and broadcast three 30-minute Open Mind interviews on aging and work

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Richard Heffner

    To produce and broadcast three 30-minute Open Mind interviews on aging and work

    More
  • grantee: American Chemical Society
    amount: $63,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2010

    To fund a survey of graduate student life and career prospects in the chemical sciences

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Mary Kirchhoff

    To fund a survey of graduate student life and career prospects in the chemical sciences

    More
  • grantee: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
    amount: $1,251,200
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2010

    To enable CrisisCommons to support the CrisisCamp community and advance innovation for crisis management using social media and new technologies

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Investigator David Rejeski

    The past year has seen the growth of an ad hoc movement of CrisisCamps: grassroots gatherings of volunteer technologists who assemble to help people and communities in times and places of crisis. This grant to the Wilson Center provides two years of support to enable CrisisCommons to support the CrisisCamp community and to advance innovation for crisis management using social media and new technologies. The CrisisCommons project has three overarching objectives: (1) provide community and technology support to the CrisisCamp communities during and after disasters; (2) facilitate a shared approach to research and innovation; and (3) establish trust and formalize relationships in the crisis response and volunteer technology communities. Beyond working directly with CrisisCamps themselves, Crisis Commons proposes to broker knowledge-sharing between volunteer technology communities and the crisis response organizations that deliver direct aid in crisis areas. Other grant funds will support the development of a Technology Roadmap that will include requirements for a volunteer collaboration platform, code management, and intellectual property licensing, and a Volunteer Technology Community Leadership Summit to bring together approximately 40 leaders from distributed, largely open source technology communities. Also provides are funds for the 2nd and 3rd annual International CrisisCongress.

    To enable CrisisCommons to support the CrisisCamp community and advance innovation for crisis management using social media and new technologies

    More
  • grantee: Marine Biological Laboratory
    amount: $459,918
    city: Woods Hole, MA
    year: 2010

    To provide tools and a data archive for analyzing sequence data of microbial communities in the indoor environment

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Mitchell Sogin

    One of the objectives of the Foundation's Indoor Environment program is to improve the cohesiveness of the community and its ability to communicate internally and externally by developing data visualization and imaging techniques and repositories. This grant to the Marine Biological Laboratory supports a joint project with the University of Chicago, the University of California, Riverside, and the University of Colorado, Boulder to develop MoBE DAC, a data analysis core for the Indoor Environment program. The overarching goal for this collaborative effort is to provide tools and a data archive for analyzing molecular sequence data and for visualizing ecological and functional similarities between microbial communities in the indoor environment. The team plans to integrate the functional capabilities of the websites of MG-RAST, VAMPS, QIIME, and the genome database, FungiDB, through a common database structure. This project will facilitate comparisons of molecular ecology data and contextual information across laboratories and study sites, providing a platform for accelerating publication of results and training of students for environmental microbiology laboratories.

    To provide tools and a data archive for analyzing sequence data of microbial communities in the indoor environment

    More
  • grantee: The University of Chicago
    amount: $1,094,203
    city: Chicago, IL
    year: 2010

    To provide tools and a data archive for analyzing sequence data of microbial communities in the indoor environment

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Folker Meyer

    One of the objectives of the Foundation's Indoor Environment program is to improve the cohesiveness of the community and its ability to communicate internally and externally by developing data visualization and imaging techniques and repositories. This grant to the University of Chicago supports a joint project with the University of California, Riverside, the Marine Biological Laboratory, and the University of Colorado, Boulder to develop MoBE DAC, a data analysis core for the Indoor Environment program. The overarching goal for this collaborative effort is to provide tools and a data archive for analyzing molecular sequence data and for visualizing ecological and functional similarities between microbial communities in the indoor environment. The team plans to integrate the functional capabilities of the websites of MG-RAST, VAMPS, QIIME, and the genome database, FungiDB, through a common database structure. This project will facilitate comparisons of molecular ecology data and contextual information across laboratories and study sites, providing a platform for accelerating publication of results and training of students for environmental microbiology laboratories.

    To provide tools and a data archive for analyzing sequence data of microbial communities in the indoor environment

    More
  • grantee: University of Colorado, Boulder
    amount: $450,000
    city: Boulder, CO
    year: 2010

    To provide tools and a data archive for analyzing sequence data of microbial communities in the indoor environment

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Robin Knight

    One of the objectives of the Foundation's Indoor Environment program is to improve the cohesiveness of the community and its ability to communicate internally and externally by developing data visualization and imaging techniques and repositories. This grant to the University of California, Boulder supports a joint project with the University of Chicago, the University of California, Riverside, and the Marine Biological Laboratory to develop MoBE DAC, a data analysis core for the Indoor Environment program. The overarching goal for this collaborative effort is to provide tools and a data archive for analyzing molecular sequence data and for visualizing ecological and functional similarities between microbial communities in the indoor environment. The team plans to integrate the functional capabilities of the websites of MG-RAST, VAMPS, QIIME, and the genome database, FungiDB, through a common database structure. This project will facilitate comparisons of molecular ecology data and contextual information across laboratories and study sites, providing a platform for accelerating publication of results and training of students for environmental microbiology laboratories.

    To provide tools and a data archive for analyzing sequence data of microbial communities in the indoor environment

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Riverside
    amount: $750,000
    city: Riverside, CA
    year: 2010

    To provide tools and a data archive for analyzing sequence data of microbial communities in the indoor environment

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Jason Stajich

    One of the objectives of the Foundation's Indoor Environment program is to improve the cohesiveness of the community and its ability to communicate internally and externally by developing data visualization and imaging techniques and repositories. This grant to the University of Chicago supports a joint project with the University of California, Riverside, the Marine Biological Laboratory, and the University of Colorado, Boulder to develop MoBE DAC, a data analysis core for the Indoor Environment program. The overarching goal for this collaborative effort is to provide tools and a data archive for analyzing molecular sequence data and for visualizing ecological and functional similarities between microbial communities in the indoor environment. The team plans to integrate the functional capabilities of the websites of MG-RAST, VAMPS, QIIME, and the genome database, FungiDB, through a common database structure. This project will facilitate comparisons of molecular ecology data and contextual information across laboratories and study sites, providing a platform for accelerating publication of results and training of students for environmental microbiology laboratories.

    To provide tools and a data archive for analyzing sequence data of microbial communities in the indoor environment

    More
  • grantee: New York Public Radio
    amount: $750,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2010

    To make science and technology a regular, integral feature on Studio 360

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Radio
    • Investigator Leital Molad

    Funds from this grant provide three years of support for Studio 360, an hour-long weekly public radio show on culture and the arts, in its continuing efforts to include coverage of science and technology as a regular, integral feature of the show through its Science and Creativity Series. Studio 360 has developed a solid infrastructure for integrating science and technology into their arts show. They have assembled a core group of eight to ten scientists who work closely with producers and host Kurt Anderson to generate new ideas and vet existing shows. As of now, 13%-four hours out of an annual total of 30 hours of programming-are devoted to science and technology (S&T) subjects, making S&T a regular and recognizable part of the program. Grant funds will also support a brainstorming forum at the beginning of the grant to bring science advisers and other scientists together with radio producers to highlight the latest research and discuss new ideas for the series.

    To make science and technology a regular, integral feature on Studio 360

    More
  • grantee: New York Public Radio
    amount: $827,700
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2010

    For production and enhanced distribution of Radiolab, an innovative, popular, science-themed show on public radio

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Radio
    • Investigator Ellen Horne

    This grant to WNYC provides three years of renewed support for the production and distribution of Radiolab, the innovative, award-winning, and increasingly popular science series about "discovery and wonder" produced in conjunction with National Public Radio (NPR). Helmed by hosts Robert Krulwich and Jad Abrmarad, each hour-long episode centers on a core scientific theme (words, animal minds, tumors) and uses rich audio production techniques (musical, documentary, and illustrative) and a range of forms (conversation, theater, and story). In addition to core funding for three years, funds from this grant will support two new innovation strategies: one is to enhance distribution efforts by segmenting and customizing shows for educators and classrooms by using listener guides, by holding listening parties with live blogging, and by partnering with museums and planetariums; a second effort is aimed at developing additional revenue and getting Radiolab on a more solid financial footing.

    For production and enhanced distribution of Radiolab, an innovative, popular, science-themed show on public radio

    More
  • grantee: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
    amount: $300,000
    city: Cold Spring Harbor, NY
    year: 2010

    To support a pilot project for DNA barcoding experiments by New York City high school students

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator David Micklos

    Funds from this grant support a team at the Dolan DNA Learning Center (DNALC) of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory to conduct a pilot program-called DNA Barcode New York City (DNAbcNYC)-to bring DNA barcoding to New York City high school students through DNALC's facility in East Harlem. The DNALC-started in 1988-is the world's first science center devoted entirely to genetics education. The DNAbcNYC team plans a pilot program to get New York City high school students-especially those underrepresented in science-to use DNA barcoding to explore their urban environment. They plan to organize student work around several key campaigns that encourage a coordinated effort to sample the biodiversity of urban ecosystems around the city, including city parks and gardens, neighborhood markets, and detecting food fraud. The project includes support for teacher training in DNA barcoding, student teams, a dedicated DNAbcNYC micro-site, kits and supplies, assistance for in-school DNA barcoding "footlocker kits," and a new Urban Barcode Competition. Using methods established by DNALC, the students will collect samples, extract DNA, and then amplify it using the appropriate primers (CO1 for animals, rbcL for plants). The amplified DNA will be shipped to a vetted sequencing lab, where the barcode sequence will be determined. The sequences will be uploaded to a new dedicated DNAbcNYC micro-site where the sequence data can be accessed and analyzed. The micro-site will support all phases of the DNAbcNYC project. The site will include video instructions, online lab notebook, downloadable lab protocols, teacher preparation, multimedia resources, a barcode sequence database, and a suite of simplified bioinformatics tools. Novel sequences will be submitted to the Barcode of Life database. The teachers and students will be invited to participate in the Urban Barcode Competition. The top three teams will be awarded cash prizes. In addition, the top three projects will be subjects of videos posted on DNAbcNYC's micro-site as well as on Cablevision's MSG Varsity Channel. The DNAbcNYC expects to reach at least 300 students in this pilot, assuming each trained teacher engages one team of three students. The project represents a unique opportunity to bring the excitement of scientific discovery through DNA barcoding to New York City high school students.

    To support a pilot project for DNA barcoding experiments by New York City high school students

    More
  • grantee: WGBH Educational Foundation
    amount: $1,700,000
    city: Boston, MA
    year: 2010

    To produce 12 scientist profiles for prime time broadcast on Nova ScienceNow, to produce and promote 32 additional scientist profiles for the award-winning "The Secret Life of Scientists and Engineers" website, and to increase the website's audience

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Television
    • Investigator Paula Apsell

    This grant to WGBH Educational Foundation provides two years of support for the award-winning broadcast series NOVA scienceNow and for the Emmy-nominated Web series The Secret Life of Scientists and Engineers. Launched with exclusive Sloan funding, The Secret Life of Scientists and Engineers enhances the public understanding of science by producing compelling stories about the life and work of contemporary working scientists and engineers and has already garnered an impressive list of achievements, garnering 600,000 visitors in the first year, major press coverage, and a much-coveted Emmy nomination in the category New Approaches to News and Documentary Programming. The NOVA scienceNow prime time television series has continued to perform well with three million viewers per episode, plus an additional 1.3 million video downloads. The profiles that the Foundation supports are a popular part of the show, and in response, the new profiles funded under this grant will be longer and compose a bigger fraction of each hour-long show. Additional grant funds will support series promotion, new content, and outreach.

    To produce 12 scientist profiles for prime time broadcast on Nova ScienceNow, to produce and promote 32 additional scientist profiles for the award-winning "The Secret Life of Scientists and Engineers" website, and to increase the website's audience

    More
  • grantee: Fund for Public Health in New York, Inc.
    amount: $1,250,058
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2010

    To improve NYC's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's syndromic surveillance systems

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Marcelle Layton

    The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH) is a world leader in the use of electronic data for disease surveillance. The syndromic surveillance systems maintained by the Bureau of Communicable Disease process nearly four million emergency department encounters, 1.5 million calls for emergency medical service ambulance dispatch, 14 million pharmacy transactions, and over one million school health nurse visits annually. Sloan provided early support in 2002 ($700,000) and 2003 ($697,000) to the New York Academy of Medicine to help the NYC Department of Health to develop and disseminate the SATSCAN syndromic surveillance software which was very successful. Since that time, new tools and methods applicable to syndromic surveillance have been developed elsewhere, and NYC DOHMH would like to put them into practice. Funds from this grant will allow NYC DOHMH to make their system "state of the art", share their improvements with other public health departments across the country, and expand the applicability of electronic data for disease surveillance by incorporating novel statistical approaches and additional data streams for outbreak and cluster detection. Over the next three years, the NYC DOHMH team will conduct three main activities. First, they will review the literature of recent research and syndromic applications in other local jurisdictions. Second, they will analyze and evaluate select statistical methodologies that can be applied to existing data to determine if they prove more useful and informative for disease surveillance. Third, they plan to apply selected methodologies to everyday practice and prepare a user's guide-a basic how-to guide-that includes their code and examples of data visualizations.

    To improve NYC's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's syndromic surveillance systems

    More
  • grantee: Council on Foreign Relations
    amount: $1,198,506
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2010

    To conduct a program of research and publication on energy security, especially related to oil

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Initiative Energy Security
    • Investigator Michael Levi

    This grant supports a project by Michael Levy, Director of the Council on Foreign Relations' program on Energy Security and Climate Change, to institute a major research program on challenges facing the United States at the intersection of energy and national security and the policy options available for addressing them, with a particular focus on oil. Funds will support the work of a full-time fellow at the Council, one to two adjunct fellows, and several outside scholars commissioned to do analysis and research. Other funds will support a series of roundtables and workshops designed to facilitate information sharing among the community of researchers and to expose interested younger scholars to work in the field, and outreach efforts designed to educate journalists, government officials, industry stakeholders, and the public. The proposed research agenda will cover several areas, including: ? understanding the security consequences of oil production, consumption, and trade; ? analyzing U.S. policies that could promote reduced demand for oil, including in developing countries; ? understanding major oil producing countries, especially Iraq and Iran; and ? assessing policies that maintain or strengthen the functioning of oil markets and the geopolitics of natural gas. In total, this project promises to make a major contribution to the ongoing discussions of energy security in the United States and should raise the quality of this discussion significantly.

    To conduct a program of research and publication on energy security, especially related to oil

    More
  • grantee: Harvard University
    amount: $89,570
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2010

    To advance understanding of market-based approaches to environmental protection by examining the legacy of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 by means of a two day workshop and report

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Robert Stavins

    To advance understanding of market-based approaches to environmental protection by examining the legacy of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 by means of a two day workshop and report

    More
  • grantee: Harvard University
    amount: $125,000
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2010

    To build on the momentum from the Radcliffe conference and develop the Digital Public Library of America through a series of workshops and meetings

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Universal Access to Knowledge
    • Investigator John Palfrey

    To build on the momentum from the Radcliffe conference and develop the Digital Public Library of America through a series of workshops and meetings

    More
  • grantee: The North Carolina A&T University Foundation Inc
    amount: $50,000
    city: Greensboro, NC
    year: 2010

    To enable graduate students in North Carolina A&T's Industrial and Systems Engineering Department who have come from HBCUs to have a summer research experience at a majority university or government laboratory

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Eui Park

    To enable graduate students in North Carolina A&T's Industrial and Systems Engineering Department who have come from HBCUs to have a summer research experience at a majority university or government laboratory

    More
  • grantee: National Opinion Research Center
    amount: $52,650
    city: Chicago, IL
    year: 2010

    To complete preparation of a proposal for a comprehensive, retrospective evaluation of nine minority or diversity scholarship programs of eight foundations and government agencies

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Bronwyn Lodato

    To complete preparation of a proposal for a comprehensive, retrospective evaluation of nine minority or diversity scholarship programs of eight foundations and government agencies

    More
  • grantee: University of Montana
    amount: $87,300
    city: Missoula, MT
    year: 2010

    To fund an additional three years of the non-scholarship component of the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership at the University of Montana

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Alexander Ross

    To fund an additional three years of the non-scholarship component of the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership at the University of Montana

    More
  • grantee: American Chemical Society
    amount: $18,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2010

    To fund for three years an award recognizing a distinguished minority chemist while the American Chemical Society raises funds to endow the award

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Madeleine Jacobs

    To fund for three years an award recognizing a distinguished minority chemist while the American Chemical Society raises funds to endow the award

    More
  • grantee: Yale University
    amount: $62,675
    city: New Haven, CT
    year: 2010

    To support a workshop on the challenges of microbial sampling in the indoor environment, co-sponsored by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Jordan Peccia

    To support a workshop on the challenges of microbial sampling in the indoor environment, co-sponsored by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

    More
  • grantee: Columbia University
    amount: $124,338
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2010

    To document and build on the history of the Science Honors program

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Allan Blaer

    To document and build on the history of the Science Honors program

    More
  • grantee: Mongolian American Scientific Research Center
    amount: $75,000
    city: Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
    year: 2010

    To fund a conference on fresh and spent fuel management and regional nuclear cooperation in North East Asia

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Dugersuren Dashdorj

    To fund a conference on fresh and spent fuel management and regional nuclear cooperation in North East Asia

    More
  • grantee: University of Texas, Austin
    amount: $63,778
    city: Austin, TX
    year: 2010

    To support the Symposium on Microbiomes of Built Environments at Indoor Air 2011

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Richard Corsi

    To support the Symposium on Microbiomes of Built Environments at Indoor Air 2011

    More
  • grantee: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    amount: $767,280
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2010

    To support Summer Institutes run by the National Bureau of Economic Research

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Amy Finkelstein

    Funds from this grant provide support to the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) to holds its annual Summer Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The NBER Summer Institute has become the most important meeting of its kind in the world, attracting, in recent years, nearly 2,000 participants over the course of four weeks to present and discuss the latest empirical research in all fields of economics. This makes the Summer Institute one of the best platforms to highlight and publicize Sloan Foundation research activities in economics and finance. More than 40 different Institute workshops are scheduled to overlap in ways that facilitate interactions among related fields and researchers and special efforts are being instituted to include a younger and more diverse crowd in addition to established scholars. The 400 or so papers presented are available online both to participants and to other researchers. Recent Institute programs specifically developed with Sloan support have focused on the financial crisis generally and on credit rating agencies in particular. Core support provided by this grant will not only fund participation in workshops, it will also help carry forward innovations such as the prestigious Feldstein Lectures, methodological courses, and a new workshop on the "Conduct of Research."

    To support Summer Institutes run by the National Bureau of Economic Research

    More
  • grantee: Oregon State University
    amount: $700,000
    city: Corvallis, OR
    year: 2010

    To help the Deep Carbon Observatory begin characterizing diversity of deep life in continental and marine environments using DNA sequencing technology

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Frederick Colwell

    The Foundation established the Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO) in 2009 to achieve major advances in understanding of carbon, the element of life, in geologically diverse deep continental and marine environments. The Observatory's plan includes a component whose objective is to describe the types of life that occur, their adaptive and evolutionary strategies, and the limits-and possibly origins-of life. In fact, evidence exists for life in all deep environments where there is liquid water. The environments include oil wells, deep granitic and basaltic aquifers, sandstone cores, clays, gold seams, and deep marine sediments. With Foundation support, an international network of microbiologists and geneticists headquartered at Oregon State University will begin a comprehensive survey of the diversity, distribution, and abundance of life in representative deep environments. Earth's microbes probably amount to 90% or more of all life. The total number of cells might be a nonillion, one thousand times one billion times one billion times one billion, or 10 to the 30th power, and the subsurface biomass may be 90% of all microbial cells. For many environments, however, there are no or sparse data, and the diversity is just now being explored thanks to new gene sequencing technologies. A key technology is "pyrotag" sequencing, which allows low-cost processing of massive amounts of DNA. The method has been applied to very few samples from deep environments. As a base, this project would examine well-preserved samples from four deep settings chosen for their variety and extensive contextual information, for example, permafrost more than 600 meters below the surface on continents. A community meeting in the second year of the project will help build the global network of experts in deep life to achieve the eventual DCO goals.

    To help the Deep Carbon Observatory begin characterizing diversity of deep life in continental and marine environments using DNA sequencing technology

    More
  • grantee: American Council of Learned Societies
    amount: $750,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2010

    To ensure the editorial integrity and timely completion of the definitive print edition of "The Correspondence of Charles Darwin" and the publication of all 15,000 letters on the Web

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Steven Wheatley

    This grant funds efforts by the American Council of Learned Societies to ensure the timely completion of the definitive edition of The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, one of the major international scholarly initiatives of the past half-century. Foundation funds will leverage a unique opportunity for a multimillion dollar package of grants that will ensure the editorial integrity of the project and guarantee its completion at least three years ahead of schedule. The Foundation has supported this project since 1983 and thus far, the award-winning The Correspondence of Charles Darwin has produced 20 volumes in its projected 30-volume collection. The 35-year project has won accolades from the scholarly community, including the Queens Anniversary Prize. Not only have the 15,000 letters Darwin exchanged with 2,000 correspondents been located and collected, they have been transcribed and edited with meticulous care, including superb contextual notes and longer essays. They have also been made freely available on the Web. The letters not only offer insight into Darwin's mind-he used them to communicate with scientific colleagues, to discuss ideas, and to gather data-but they also offer an accessible route into his published writings.

    To ensure the editorial integrity and timely completion of the definitive print edition of "The Correspondence of Charles Darwin" and the publication of all 15,000 letters on the Web

    More
  • grantee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    amount: $500,000
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2010

    To create a new executive-level course designed to promote the safe and responsible use of nuclear power worldwide

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Richard Lester

    This grant supports a project by MIT's Richard Lester to create a new executive-level course designed to promote the safe and responsible use of nuclear power worldwide and to provide leadership education and training in the strategies, operational practices, and technologies required to develop a safe, successful civilian nuclear energy program. The new course would be built on MIT's very successful and self-sufficient Reactor Technology Course for Utility Executives (RTC), now in its 18th year and offered in partnership with the Institute for Nuclear Power Operations. The curriculum would provide training for senior executives as well as government officials in countries considering building their first nuclear power plants, in countries in the early stages of implementing a civilian nuclear power program, or in countries which are restarting a civilian nuclear power program after an extended period of dormancy. Particular emphasis would target potential nuclear countries in the developing world, including Saudi Arabia, U.A.E., Indonesia, Turkey, Vietnam, Egypt, and Jordan. This project represents a unique opportunity for Sloan to contribute to the safe development of new civilian nuclear power programs around the world.

    To create a new executive-level course designed to promote the safe and responsible use of nuclear power worldwide

    More
  • grantee: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
    amount: $250,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2010

    To provide further support to the Carnegie Endowment's Project to develop a voluntary Code of Conduct for nuclear power plant vendors

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator George Perkovich

    In 2009, the Foundation approved a grant to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace to support its work helping the world's nuclear power plant vendors develop a voluntary Code of Conduct. The effort has made significant progress and funds from this grant support the Carnegie Endowment's continuing efforts to advance the project. The Code text now contains sections on safety, health and radiological protection, physical security, environmental protection and the handling of irradiated fuel and nuclear waste, compensation for nuclear damage, nonproliferation and safeguards, and ethics. Drawing, where possible, on existing international agreements and International Atomic Energy Agency recommendations, the Code would pledge complying vendors to a standard of behavior higher than would be expected in its absence or than has been true historically. While the Code, once agreed upon, will be voluntary, it promises to be highly significant in influencing the behavior of power plant vendors. Hopefully it will be incorporated into each company's own code of business conduct, making it essentially mandatory for them. Moreover, the Code's very public nature and the scrutiny of environmental and nonproliferation advocacy groups will help guarantee vendor compliance.

    To provide further support to the Carnegie Endowment's Project to develop a voluntary Code of Conduct for nuclear power plant vendors

    More
  • grantee: Columbia University
    amount: $221,837
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2010

    To write screenplays and produce short films about science and technology

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Trey Ellis

    This grant provides continuing support to Columbia University, one of the Foundation's six film school partners, for three more years of activities designed to encourage top film students to develop screenplays and produce short films about science and technology. Activities supported through this grant include the provision of faculty mentors and science advisors for students working on science-themed film projects, two annual awards for production of short films on science and technology, two annual awards to develop promising feature film scripts with science content, and networking events with select film industry producers, agents, and managers.

    To write screenplays and produce short films about science and technology

    More
  • grantee: Carnegie Mellon University
    amount: $284,360
    city: Pittsburgh, PA
    year: 2010

    To encourage top film students to write screenplays about science and technology and to help their careers

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Robert Handel

    This grant provides continuing support to Carnegie Mellon University, one of the Foundation's six film school partners, for three more years of activities designed to encourage top film students to develop screenplays about science and technology. Activities supported under this grant include a symposium featuring internationally recognized scientists and technologists discussing current work in their fields; two semesters of training in screenwriting, guest-faculty workshops by accomplished screenwriting mentors; consultations by scientists and technologists on scripts in progress; the presentation of two awards for outstanding student screenplays exploring scientific themes or featuring scientists or technologists as characters, and activities to promote student career advancement, including industry showcases in Los Angeles and New York.

    To encourage top film students to write screenplays about science and technology and to help their careers

    More
  • grantee: Sundance Institute
    amount: $750,000
    city: Beverly Hills, CA
    year: 2010

    To support a program of science and technology films, film panels, and film fellowships at Sundance

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Anne Lai

    This grant funds three years of the Sloan Science-in-Film initiative by the Sundance Institute, which runs the Sundance Film Festival, the premiere independent film festival in the U.S. Funds will support four annual components of the initiative: a commissioning grant, a feature film fellowship, a $20,000 best Science and Technology feature film prize, and a panel of filmmakers and scientists followed by an awards reception.

    To support a program of science and technology films, film panels, and film fellowships at Sundance

    More
  • grantee: Thurgood Marshall College Fund
    amount: $299,992
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2010

    To include Thurgood Marshall College Fund campuses in the STEM migration project led by Swarthmore College

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Teresa Orok

    Swarthmore College is studying the migration of undergraduates into and out of STEM disciplines. In 2009 the Foundation supported efforts by the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF), the umbrella organization of 47 public, historically black universities, law schools and medical schools, to enable them to explore the possibility of some of their member campuses joining the Swarthmore-led STEM migration project or launching a similar project. Fund from this follow-on grant will enable 20 of the TMCF member campuses to join the Swarthmore-led project. The addition of 20 TMCF campuses to the STEM migration project would provide the basis for these campuses to improve STEM retention, provide a broader basis for each of the 44 campuses to compare its own performance with that of others, greatly expand the project's data on African American students, and facilitate further fundraising to sustain the project to which both Swarthmore College and TMCF are committed.

    To include Thurgood Marshall College Fund campuses in the STEM migration project led by Swarthmore College

    More
  • grantee: Council of Graduate Schools
    amount: $658,687
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2010

    To launch a project focusing on completion and attrition in STEM Master's Programs

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Debra Stewart

    In February 2009 the Foundation funded a project by Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) to enable them to develop a national strategy for enhancing the completion rate in STEM master's degrees. With these funds, CGS surveyed what was known about this subject, produced a paper that summarized what is known, outlined a research agenda for improving knowledge about what affects attrition and completion rates, and began laying out a taxonomy of STEM master's degrees. They also convened a meeting of researchers, graduate deans, and others to discuss the paper and what CGS could and should do further in this area. The strategy that emerged from this preliminary work calls for a two-phased follow-on program. The first phase, funding for which is provided through this grant, would (a) further develop a taxonomy of STEM master's programs; (b) establish standardized definitions for "entry", "attrition", and "completion" in STEM master's programs; (c) provide a first look at comparable completion and attrition rates within STEM master's programs in a variety of programs in a selected number of institutions; and (d) determine factors perceived to affect student success or attrition and identify promising practices to foster student success. Based on what is learned from all this, CGS will decide whether a second phase is warranted that would gather data on completion and attrition from a larger, more representative set of institutions and track implementation and effects of promising interventions designed to improve outcomes for all or a subset of STEM master's degree types.

    To launch a project focusing on completion and attrition in STEM Master's Programs

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Berkeley
    amount: $1,451,191
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2010

    To investigate the processes and sources responsible for indoor microbial communities and indoor air quality

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Thomas Bruns

    One of the objectives of Sloan's Indoor Environment program is to support targets of opportunity that will help to advance research and knowledge about the indoor microbial environment. Funds from this grant support research on the indoor microbial environment by a team of scientists at the University of California, Berkeley. Their research plan has three objectives: 1) to investigate the processes of microbial community assembly in the indoor environment; 2) to obtain an understanding of the relationship between building design, external climate, and interior microbial community; and 3) to improve instrumentation to measure volatile, organic compounds derived from microbes, microbial toxins, and allergens in indoor air. The Berkeley team's project complements existing Foundation grants supporting the Biology and Built Environment Center at the University of Oregon, which is developing a predictive science of the built environment microbiome through partnerships between architects and biologists; a major ongoing research project to catalog the indoor microbial world at the University of Colorado at Boulder; a project to study New York City air and to develop a single cell genomics pipeline at the J. Craig Venter Institute, and efforts by the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole to examine the rare biosphere in drinking water.

    To investigate the processes and sources responsible for indoor microbial communities and indoor air quality

    More
  • grantee: Science Festival Foundation
    amount: $600,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2010

    To support the fourth World Science Festival and to begin implementing the Strategic Plan and Business Development Initiative

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program New Media
    • Investigator Tracy Day

    This grant to the Science Festival Foundation will provide support for the planning, development, and production of the fourth World Science Festival , a five-day series of speakers, panels, exhibits and events hosted throughout New York City which aims to contribute to a shift in the public perception of science, making manifest how science is as indispensible to a rich life as other cultural mainstays like music, theatre, art, dance and literature. Grant funds will also support the Science Festival Foundation's implementation of the first phase of its three-year Strategic Plan and Business Development initiative, which aims to develop a revenue model to ensure the Festival's long-term sustainability and to expand the Festival's impact through various channels: including the use of live, digital, and broadcast platforms; national and international partnerships, and educational outreach.

    To support the fourth World Science Festival and to begin implementing the Strategic Plan and Business Development Initiative

    More
  • grantee: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    amount: $644,920
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2010

    To support research on the barriers to working longer and how to facilitate work at older ages

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator David Wise

    David Wise, of the Kennedy School of Government and the National Bureau of Economic Research, has directed a remarkably successful program at NBER since 1985 on the Economics of Aging. He has now assembled a team of distinguished economists, including Stanford's John Shoven and Harvard's David Cutler, to expand this program's focus to include research on aging and work, by examining the conditions in public policy and in the workplace that make it difficult or costly for people to work longer than conventional retirement age. This grant supports four interrelated research projects. The first project develops tools for estimating how policy reforms would affect work at older ages and details two possible reforms: a "paid up" social security reform and a Medicare-as-first-payer reform, each of which could facilitate longer working lives. The second project analyzes relationships between firm policy provisions and work behavior at older ages, based on the diverse pension and retiree health plans of employees of Towers Watson client companies. The third project addresses the effect of improving health status on the ability to work at older ages and analyzes mortality reductions in 12 countries, emphasizing the rationale that these trends provide for facilitating longer working lives. The fourth project further develops an international perspective by exploring older workers' preferences for work arrangements and employers' willingness to accommodate such preferences in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France.

    To support research on the barriers to working longer and how to facilitate work at older ages

    More
  • grantee: The Urban Institute
    amount: $416,230
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2010

    To assess disincentives in state and local defined benefit pension plans for working longer

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Richard Johnson

    Unlike in the private sector, almost all state and local government workers-from employees of state agencies to public school teachers and policemen-participate in defined benefit pension plans. Not only do these plans strain public budgets, they generally incent early retirement by penalizing work at older ages. Funds from this grant will support a project by the Urban Institute to enhance knowledge and awareness of the work disincentives created by state and local defined benefit pension plans and of existing reform options that encourage public?sector employees to work longer. Under the direction of Richard Johnson and Eugene Steuerle, this project will accomplish several objectives over the course of three stages of work. The first stage of the project will quantify work disincentives in state and local defined benefit pension plans, compare disincentives across states and localities and across occupations, and identify existing reforms that have reduced work disincentives. The second stage of the project will match these disincentive measures to state and local workers in the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) and model their impact on work and retirement decisions. The final stage will follow state and local retirees over time in the SIPP and the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to measure their economic status and the share who return to work, either in the public or private sector. Ultimately, this project will enrich our understanding of how defined benefit pension plans discourage work at older ages and identify reforms that do or potentially could encourage later retirement.

    To assess disincentives in state and local defined benefit pension plans for working longer

    More
  • grantee: Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities
    amount: $179,017
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2010

    To launch a project that will result in enhanced access and success of minority males in STEM disciplines at APLU-member institutions

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Lorenzo Esters

    The relative absence of minority males, compared to minority females, in higher education and subsequent careers has become widely recognized across the United States. This is especially true for African American males, although the problem is also very real for Hispanic and Native American males. Although a few individual universities (including Howard University, Ohio State University and the University of Georgia) have begun to focus on this issue, it urgently requires higher profile and more systematic attention. This grant will fund efforts by the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU) to take up this issue for its own member institutions within the fields of mathematics, science, engineering, and technology. APLU's 218 member institutions enroll 3.5 million undergraduates and 1.1 million graduate students, including 34% of all students and 36% of minority males who are enrolled in U.S. four-year public and private institutions. The first phase of this effort will employ a planning task force of prominent scholars, university administrators and others to define the problem and develop an action plan. Anticipated products include a published paper that presents the action plan, summarizes what is known about the issue, identifies gaps in this knowledge that could be filled by further research, provides a preliminary list of resources for university presidents and others who want to address the issue, and summarizes the attributes of successful programs that are already underway. The planning task force will also produce a policy statement that can be endorsed by presidents of APLU-member institutions that raises awareness about the issue of minority males in STEM disciplines and frames the issues for an anticipated second phase of the project.

    To launch a project that will result in enhanced access and success of minority males in STEM disciplines at APLU-member institutions

    More
  • grantee: Public Media Lab
    amount: $797,836
    city: Chevy Chase, MD
    year: 2010

    To produce and broadcast a one-hour PBS documentary "Admiral Rickover and the Nuclear Navy"

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Television
    • Investigator Michael Pack

    This grant funds a project by The Public Media Lab, under the auspices of veteran, award-winning television producer Michael Pack, to produce and broadcast a PBS documentary about the pugnacious, pioneering Admiral Hyman Rickover and his role in the development of both the first nuclear submarine and the first civilian nuclear power plant. Admiral Hyman Rickover was a take-no-prisoners innovator who transformed the navy and the role of commercial nuclear power as part of President Eisenhower's Atoms for Peace program, a subject that remains timely today. In addition, Rickover recruited more scientists and engineers into the navy and attempted to transform the American educational system to produce more qualified technologists. The documentary will combine interviews, footage, and live-action sequences and promises to appeal to a significant audience, advancing the public understanding of science and technology with an important and compelling story that has never been seen on television before.

    To produce and broadcast a one-hour PBS documentary "Admiral Rickover and the Nuclear Navy"

    More
  • grantee: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    amount: $999,155
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2010

    To initiate and organize research on the economics of digital information

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Shane Greenstein

    The digitization of information on a massive scale challenges many traditional assumptions about how media markets, intellectual property laws, innovation, governance, and other important aspects of our world can or should work. Adjustments taking place due to advances in digital information technology are rapid, significant, unfinished, and little studied by objective academics as opposed to interested stakeholders. This grant to the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), supports efforts to establish an impartial community of scholars dedicated to studying the determinants and consequences of digitization. Activities funded through this grant divide into three broad categories: the development an economic framework for analyzing the effects of changes in and diffusion of digital information technology that is theoretically grounded and empirically relevant; the application of such a framework to the systematic evaluation of policy and governance issues; and the improvement of measures of the extent, impact, and potential for the diffusion and use of digital information technology through providing datasets that researchers can share. Funds from this grant will support annual workshops at the NBER Summer Institute, winter outreach meetings with practitioners and a culminating conference and proceedings. Funds for small research grants, postdoctoral fellowships, and data infrastructure are also included. Taken together, the funded activities represent a comprehensive and unique opportunity for improving how we understand the problems and promise of digitization.

    To initiate and organize research on the economics of digital information

    More
  • grantee: L.A. Theatre Works
    amount: $266,239
    city: Venice, CA
    year: 2010

    To record four new science plays, including two new Sloan-commissioned plays for broadcast on public radio and for distribution to schools, libraries, and online retail partners

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Theater
    • Investigator Susan Loewenberg

    This grant to L.A. Theatre Works (LATW) provides support to its continuing project to record and distribute science plays. Over the next two years, L.A. Theatre Works will record four more science plays, including two new plays commissioned through the Foundation's Theater program. In addition to garnering significant new audiences for each play, recordings become part of LATW's permanent Audio Theater Collection made available to individuals and libraries through an online catalogue and retail partner sites, including iTunes, Audible.com, Barnesandnoble.com, and Overdrive.net. Additionally, two of the four plays will be distributed free of charge to 3,000 schools in over 600 cities in all 50 states, with accompanying curricular material. While only a few thousand people can see science-themed plays in their original, limited theatrical run, LATW guarantees that these plays will be heard by hundreds of thousands of people over many years and belong to the permanent collections of schools, libraries, and retail partners.

    To record four new science plays, including two new Sloan-commissioned plays for broadcast on public radio and for distribution to schools, libraries, and online retail partners

    More
  • grantee: Dartmouth College
    amount: $119,591
    city: Hanover, NH
    year: 2010

    To create and study network models of systemic risk in banking and finance

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Daniel Rockmore

    To create and study network models of systemic risk in banking and finance

    More
  • grantee: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    amount: $115,690
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2010

    To convene conferences on the measurement of systemic risk and liquidity

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Arvind Krishnamurthy

    To convene conferences on the measurement of systemic risk and liquidity

    More
  • grantee: University of Maryland, Baltimore County
    amount: $14,240
    city: Baltimore, MD
    year: 2010

    To define a program and obtain funding for a minority focused, undergraduate program in mathematics, statistics, and economics

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Scott Farrow

    To define a program and obtain funding for a minority focused, undergraduate program in mathematics, statistics, and economics

    More
  • grantee: University of Texas, Austin
    amount: $124,158
    city: Austin, TX
    year: 2010

    To investigate the microbial communities of retail stores

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Jeffrey Siegel

    To investigate the microbial communities of retail stores

    More
  • grantee: Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies
    amount: $125,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2010

    To conduct a case study of the May 1, 2010 catastrophic water main break in Boston

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Diane VanDe Hei

    To conduct a case study of the May 1, 2010 catastrophic water main break in Boston

    More
  • grantee: University of Oregon
    amount: $1,800,000
    city: Eugene, OR
    year: 2010

    To fund the Center for Microbial Ecology of Indoor Environments

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Jessica Green

    To fund the Center for Microbial Ecology of Indoor Environments

    More
  • grantee: Neil D. Levin Institute
    amount: $80,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2010

    On behalf of the Neil D. Levine Institute for support for Innovate New York: Media and Communications

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Thomas Moebus

    On behalf of the Neil D. Levine Institute for support for Innovate New York: Media and Communications

    More
  • grantee: University of Texas, Austin
    amount: $42,433
    city: Austin, TX
    year: 2010

    To determine essential baseline IE knowledge of experts and identify decision-makers

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator LeeAnn Kahlor

    To determine essential baseline IE knowledge of experts and identify decision-makers

    More
  • grantee: National Opinion Research Center
    amount: $63,767
    city: Chicago, IL
    year: 2010

    To prepare a proposal for a comprehensive, retrospective evaluation of nine minority or diversity scholarship programs of eight foundations and government agencies

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Bronwyn Lodato

    To prepare a proposal for a comprehensive, retrospective evaluation of nine minority or diversity scholarship programs of eight foundations and government agencies

    More
  • grantee: Texas AgriLife Research
    amount: $124,287
    city: College Station, TX
    year: 2010

    To expand and institutionalize an excellent support program for graduate students in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the College of Engineering, primarily those from underrepresented populations

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Manuel Pina

    To expand and institutionalize an excellent support program for graduate students in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the College of Engineering, primarily those from underrepresented populations

    More
  • grantee: Montana Tech of the University of Montana
    amount: $41,489
    city: Butte, MT
    year: 2010

    To fund for an additional three years the recruitment and retention portion of the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership at Montana Tech

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Joseph Figueira

    To fund for an additional three years the recruitment and retention portion of the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership at Montana Tech

    More
  • grantee: GuideStar USA, Inc.
    amount: $5,000
    city: Williamsburg, VA
    year: 2010

    To support completion of the IRS Form 990 Project

    • Program Initiatives

    To support completion of the IRS Form 990 Project

    More
  • grantee: Lyrasis
    amount: $750,000
    city: Philadelphia, PA
    year: 2010

    For continued digitization of member collections and development of a self-sustaining regional scanning center

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Universal Access to Knowledge
    • Investigator Laurie Gemmill

    For continued digitization of member collections and development of a self-sustaining regional scanning center

    More
  • grantee: Harvard University
    amount: $36,288
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2010

    To hold a two-day conference on creating a National Digital Library

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Universal Access to Knowledge
    • Investigator Robert Darnton

    To hold a two-day conference on creating a National Digital Library

    More
  • grantee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    amount: $108,425
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2010

    To investigate gender gaps and achievement gaps across schools among high-achieving mathematics students

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Glenn Ellison

    To investigate gender gaps and achievement gaps across schools among high-achieving mathematics students

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Los Angeles
    amount: $800,000
    city: Los Angeles, CA
    year: 2010

    To help design and build a pioneering mass spectrometer for the Deep Carbon Observatory to trace the provenance of tiny volumes of methane and other gaseous species in natural environments

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Edward Young

    A fundamental challenge of the Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO) is to distinguish methane (CH4) produced by degradation of relict organic matter ("fossil" fuel) from that produced by inorganic synthesis or from the activity of microbes ("methanotrophs") in the deep biosphere. This grant supports a project to develop and build a tandem gas-source, electron-impact mass spectrometer with sufficient mass resolving power and sensitivity to make it possible to analyze the rare isotopologues of gas molecules present in hydrocarbon deposits, deep crustal reservoirs, and other settings. The proposed instrument will be the first to combine exceptionally high mass resolving power with a gas source inlet to a mass spectrometer. The full cost of the instrument is $2 million. Proposals submitted to the National Science Foundation (NSF) and Department of Energy (DOE) for $1.15 million have won very favorable reviews, and both agencies have indicated a desire to fund the instrument, with Foundation funding completing the funding gap. The Foundation believes support for the mass spectrometer powerfully exemplifies the effective leveraging of Sloan funds, and a working instrument within 24 months could produce significant published scientific results on the provenance of deep methane in natural environments within three to four years.

    To help design and build a pioneering mass spectrometer for the Deep Carbon Observatory to trace the provenance of tiny volumes of methane and other gaseous species in natural environments

    More
  • grantee: Carnegie Institution of Washington
    amount: $900,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2010

    To encourage development of scientific instruments for the International Deep Carbon Observatory

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Robert Hazen

    When the Foundation initiated support for the Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO), advisors and reviewers emphasized the importance of timely instrument development. The success of the DCO's ten-year plan depends not only on network building, fund-raising, and drilling but on instruments ready to do the range of analyses foreseen. Much effort since the July 1, 2009 launch of the DCO has gone into understanding and addressing instrument needs. The DCO leadership invited ten groups to submit requests and plans for instruments that the international leadership deemed especially important and promising. This resulted in seven highly promising projects totaling $1.7 million. This grant will support six of these seven instrument development projects, oversight of which is to be conducted by the Deep Carbon Observatory leadership at the Carnegie Institution of Washington. The seventh project is funded through a separate Sloan Foundation grant to the University of California at Los Angeles. The instruments to be developed and the developing institutions to be funded under this grant are: Institution Instrument University of Southern California Down-hole logging instrumentation University of New Mexico Volcano gas monitoring Stanford University Synchrotron X-ray spectrometer Institute of High Pressure Physics, Troitsk Russia Diamond-anvil cells (high pressure-temperature devices) Moscow State University Gas chromatograph Institute for Physics of the Globe, Paris Gas-source mass spectrometer The inherent challenges of technical progress as well as required matching funds introduce considerable uncertainty into the process of instrument development, but the Foundation believes these projects position the Deep Carbon Observatory well for timely success in this crucial dimension of its activity.

    To encourage development of scientific instruments for the International Deep Carbon Observatory

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Berkeley
    amount: $244,343
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2010

    To study energy efficiency gains and participation rates associated with the Federal Weatherization Assistance Program through randomized-control trials using data from Michigan

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Catherine Wolfram

    Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the federal budget for its Weatherization Assistance Program jumped from $250 million per year to $5 billion. But how much energy will retrofitted weatherization really save among households eligible for such support? Researchers Catherine Wolfram and Meredith Fowlie want to know. They have designed large-scale randomized-control field trials to study if and when consumers take advantage of the newly available federal funds to support weatherization. The U.S. Department of Energy is interested in supporting research on its Weatherization Assistance Program, but cannot provide funding in a timely manner. Sloan funding will allow the project to move ahead now rather than waiting another year or more for the U.S. Department of Energy to provide support.

    To study energy efficiency gains and participation rates associated with the Federal Weatherization Assistance Program through randomized-control trials using data from Michigan

    More
  • grantee: New Venture Fund
    amount: $117,640
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2010

    To study experimentally the market for retail financial advice

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Antoinette Schoar

    The decisions individual households make about consumer financial products can be complicated, and so many people rely on expert advice. But is such advice any good? How well can consumers tell if it is or it isn't? Antoinette Schoar, a finance professor at MIT, and her collaborators have already conducted a pilot "audit study" to address the first question by dispatching trained actors to visit selected advisors. In addition to expanding this research on the supply side of the market for retail consumer financial advice, Schoar's team also plans new laboratory experiments to investigate the demand side of that market by measuring how consumers react to videotapes of different financial advisors. This project has already secured some highly competitive funding from the National Science Foundation, but more is needed to cover the experimental costs of sample sizes large enough to be statistically convincing. Sloan support will provide the necessary funds.

    To study experimentally the market for retail financial advice

    More
  • grantee: Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Management International
    amount: $142,785
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2010

    To explore the value and feasibility of reaching pristine mantle rock as part of the field program of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Kiyoshi Suyehiro

    The Foundation's Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO) science program initiated in 2009 aims to revolutionize understanding of the carbon at great depths in Earth's crust and even below, in the mantle. With Foundation support, the sea floor scientific drillers, now united worldwide in the International Ocean Drilling Program (IODP), propose to meet with the emerging deep carbon community, to explore whether the time is ripe to pursue a project to drill a borehole down to the boundary between the Earth's crust and its mantle and whether such an effort should be associated with the Deep Carbon Observatory. Funds from this grant will support this meeting, hosted by the DCO leadership at the Carnegie Institution of Washington, which will aim to achieve clarity about the risks, costs, and benefits of such a project with an eye towards a well-informed decision by the Deep Carbon Observatory about whether it should form a part of the DCO.

    To explore the value and feasibility of reaching pristine mantle rock as part of the field program of the Deep Carbon Observatory

    More
  • grantee: WGBH Educational Foundation
    amount: $100,000
    city: Boston, MA
    year: 2010

    To develop a screenplay about physicist Lise Meitner for a financing package leading to a theatrical feature film and/or a television broadcast

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Paula Apsell

    This grant to the WGBH Educational Foundation provides development funds for a screenplay about physicist Lise Meitner, who, with Otto Hahn, did the critical research leading to the discovery of nuclear fission, but who was excluded from the Nobel Prize that went to Hahn. Funds will go towards hiring a professional screenwriter to work with the director on the project and for a financing package that will enable a theatrical release and television broadcast on PBS's NOVA.

    To develop a screenplay about physicist Lise Meitner for a financing package leading to a theatrical feature film and/or a television broadcast

    More
  • grantee: Coolidge Corner Theatre Foundation
    amount: $150,318
    city: Brookline, MA
    year: 2010

    To support screenings and discussion of science films at art house theaters across the country

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Denise Kasell

    This grant provides support to the Coolidge Corner Theater, regularly voted the best movie theater in Boston and boasting a national reputation, as it continues its pioneering Science on Screen series and expands the series to movie theaters across the country. The Science on Screen series is notable because-in addition to screening traditional Sloan-style science films like Primer, 2001: A Space Odyssey and A Brief History of Time-it takes non-scientific movies like American Beauty, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Fight Club and shines a serious scientific lens on major themes in these films, following each showing with in-depth discussions led by working scientists. At the Arthouse Convergence, a major meeting of Art House theater professionals held in advance of the Sundance Film Festival, Coolidge plans to make a formal presentation and hold a Science on Screen workshop, distributing the syllabus, showcasing videos of speakers, discussing programming ideas, and exploring potential marketing and audience development tactics. This effort is an experiment that seeks to build on build on Coolidge's existing successes and scale them up in a meaningful way.

    To support screenings and discussion of science films at art house theaters across the country

    More
  • grantee: Hamptons International Film Festival
    amount: $527,456
    city: East Hampton, NY
    year: 2010

    To commission and spotlight science and technology films and to develop science and technology screenplays

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Karen Arikian

    This grant provides support to the The Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF), for continued development of its activities in the Sloan Film program. HIFF activities consist of a $25,000 annual feature film prize with multiple screenings, a panel with filmmakers and scientists, a reception, and an intensive screenwriting workshop with staged readings of works-in-progress at the festival. Previous Foundation support of HIFF has resulted in an impressive roster of Sloan-winning films and directors, including Darren Aronofsky, Julian Schnabel, Michael Apted, Bill Condon and Marc Abraham, all of whom participated-in person, on video or via letter-at the festival's tenth anniversary tribute to the accomplishments of the Sloan partnership in 2009. Funds from this grant will ensure continuation of this successful partnership through the next three years.

    To commission and spotlight science and technology films and to develop science and technology screenplays

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Davis
    amount: $1,371,214
    city: Davis, CA
    year: 2010

    To establish and support the Microbiomes of Built Environments Network (microBEnet)

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Jonathan Eisen

    One of the objectives of the Foundation's Indoor Environment (IE) program is to establish a multi-disciplinary network of researchers and practitioners that will build the community and organize specialized workshops, annual meetings of grantees, and a capstone event. This grant will fund noted evolutionary biologist Jonathan Eisen and colleagues at the University of California, in collaboration with Hal Levin, a prominent building sciences expert, in their efforts to create the microbiomes of Built Environments network (microBEnet). The team plans to make use of diverse web-based, web-enabled, and in-person strategies to build a vibrant online and real community. Over the next three years, microBEnet will conduct activities in three areas: among existing Foundation grantees, with researchers in related disciplines, and with a broader public and scientific community. Among current Sloan grantees, the network will organize annual meetings and develop a wiki for communication. With researchers in related disciplines, microBEnet will organize special sessions at high profile meetings, and develop web communication resources.

    To establish and support the Microbiomes of Built Environments Network (microBEnet)

    More
  • grantee: Catticus Corporation
    amount: $250,000
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2010

    To support a pilot effort to produce and distribute short web videos based on new scientific papers

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program New Media
    • Investigator Michael Schwarz

    Funds from this grant support a pilot project by Michael Schwarz of Kikim Media to produce and distribute six short web videos to accompany new scientific papers that appear in the Public Library of Science. The proposed videos-each five to seven minutes long-aim to translate the latest scientific findings into a broadly accessible language that can reach a wider audience than those who currently read academic science journals.

    To support a pilot effort to produce and distribute short web videos based on new scientific papers

    More
  • grantee: The Brookings Institution
    amount: $576,793
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2010

    To develop estimates of how the decision by American workers to retire later impacts public budgets and the economy

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Gary Burtless

    By the mid-1980s, a century-old trend toward earlier labor force withdrawal by older American men came to a halt and subsequently reversed itself. At the same time, a shorter trend of flat labor force participation rates for older women stopped and their labor force participation rates began increasing. As a result, on average, older American men and women are now working longer and retiring later. Funds from this grant support a project by The Brookings Institution to estimate the impact of delayed retirement on overall economic output, on government income and payroll tax revenues, and on public spending, specifically on government programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. The project consists of several integrated subprojects. The first deconstructs the nature of the later retirement trend, asking which types of workers, in terms of gender, education, skill levels, and income, are retiring later and how they delay labor force departure. The second subproject investigates the nature of the physical and mental well-being of retirees over time. The third and fourth subprojects, which are to be informed by these labor force data, involve macro- and micro-simulation modeling of the impact of a rising retirement age for the economy and for public finances. At the completion of the subprojects, Brookings will organize a public forum in Washington, D.C. at which the research findings will be presented and discussed before an invited audience of policymakers, academics, and governmental and nongovernmental agencies concerned with aging and budget policy.

    To develop estimates of how the decision by American workers to retire later impacts public budgets and the economy

    More
  • grantee: American Council on Education
    amount: $589,294
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2010

    To support an Invitational Conference and Awards Program on the Culminating Stage of Faculty Careers in Higher Education

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Claire Van Ummersen

    The American Council on Education (ACE) has successfully partnered with Sloan since 2003 in developing and administering the Sloan Faculty Career Flexibility Awards. Three rounds of the awards program have been completed, including awards focused on research universities, large master's universities, and liberal arts colleges. ACE proposes three main activities with this grant: pilot work with nine institutions of higher education in three types of institutions of higher education (three research, three large master's, and three liberal arts colleges) to understand further what they are doing for faculty pre- and post-retirement; an invitational conference that will involve teams comprised of administrators and faculty from the participating colleges and universities; and a new awards program to identify and recognize best practices regarding the culminating stages of faculty careers that meet the needs of both the institutions and the faculty members. Five winners in each of the three categories will be awarded $100,000 in recognition of their innovative efforts to provide effective faculty retirement practices.

    To support an Invitational Conference and Awards Program on the Culminating Stage of Faculty Careers in Higher Education

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Berkeley
    amount: $398,498
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2010

    To support research on aging, work, and retirement among late-career faculty at the University of California

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Sheldon Zedeck

    For faculty at U.S. colleges and universities, transitioning into retirement often involves the daunting challenge of effectively reconfiguring their lives after decades of pursuing absorbing careers in which their identities are synonymous with their work. This grant to the University of California, Berkeley aims at helping institutions provide the (non-financial) policies, practices, and programs that will facilitate the retirement transition for faculty and serve the goals and needs of both the retiring faculty and the mission of the institution. Funded activities include support for two studies: the first descriptive, the second causal. The descriptive study will examine a diverse range of aging-related issues, including professional activities and productivity, career experiences, retirement and post-retirement career plans, and family relations. The causal study will collect and analyze data from the naturally occurring experimental conditions that arose from the three waves of the University of California Voluntary Early Retirement Incentive Programs of the early 1990s. Outcome from this research promises to be applicable far outside the University of California system, and interest from university and college administrators has been significant.

    To support research on aging, work, and retirement among late-career faculty at the University of California

    More
  • grantee: Science Friday Initiative, Inc.
    amount: $630,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2010

    To support Science Friday and its science-and-arts strand on air, online, and on-demand

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Radio
    • Investigator Ira Flatow

    The Science Friday Initiative requests three more years of support for Ira Flatow's award-winning radio program Science Friday and for its Sloan-initiated science-and-arts strand. Science Friday continues to be the most reliable two hours of radio broadcast-and increasingly, of podcast-time dedicated to talking intelligently about all things science in the United States. The show airs 52 weeks a year on over 300 stations through National Public Radio, reaching 1.3 million weekly listeners, and was downloaded in podcast form over 13 million times last year. This grant includes support for 12 segments a year on science and the arts plus support for the SciArts website, a portal that is reachable from the program's home page. Science Friday is an invaluable asset to Sloan's radio program and to the science community as a whole.

    To support Science Friday and its science-and-arts strand on air, online, and on-demand

    More
  • grantee: Advocates for Children of New York, Inc.
    amount: $1,150,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2010

    To generate and disseminate information for parents about New York City schools

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Kim Sweet

    The website InsideSchools.org provides independent information about New York City schools and the New York City Department of Education, providing helpful information to parents trying to navigate the public school bureaucracy, journalists writing about education, social workers trying to place students in appropriate schools, and teachers looking for jobs. Funds from this grant support InsideSchools in its continuing efforts to compile accurate, professional, and current reviews of the more than 1,500 New York City public schools.

    To generate and disseminate information for parents about New York City schools

    More
  • grantee: New York University
    amount: $708,468
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2010

    To establish a Center for Mathematical Talent to work with students from NYC schools

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Yuri Tschinkel

    In recent years, programs to indentify and nurture talent in science and mathematics among NYC schoolchildren have largely disappeared. Funds from this grant will support The Courant Institute for the Mathematical Sciences at New York University (NYU) in its efforts to launch a new Center for Mathematical Talent (CMT) to address precisely this problem. Courant is one of the premier mathematical institutions in the world, and can build on its established record of success with gifted and talented schoolchildren. Outreach for the new Center will specifically target women, underrepresented minorities, and disadvantaged students who may not otherwise know about or pursue opportunities to develop their potential.

    To establish a Center for Mathematical Talent to work with students from NYC schools

    More
  • grantee: Purdue University
    amount: $153,000
    city: West Lafayette, IN
    year: 2010

    To fund the recruitment and retention portion of the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership Program at Purdue University for an additional three years

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Kevin Gibson

    Funds from this grant will support activities by Purdue University to recruit qualified, eligible Native American students for enrollment in graduate study in science or engineering, as well as a variety of activities designed to help meet the challenges facing Native students pursuing graduate work. Supported activities include recruitment trips by Purdue faculty to schools with Native students studying science and engineering as undergraduates, visits by prospective students to Purdue, design and production of print and web-based outreach materials, an annual retreat for enrolled students, regular mentoring for Native students, and coursework about successfully integrating the demands of graduate study with the demands of membership in a tribal community.

    To fund the recruitment and retention portion of the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership Program at Purdue University for an additional three years

    More
  • grantee: American Physical Society
    amount: $18,000
    city: College Park, MD
    year: 2010

    To fund the Edward A. Bouchet Lectureship Award for three years while the American Physical Society raises endowment funding for it

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Theodore Hodapp

    To fund the Edward A. Bouchet Lectureship Award for three years while the American Physical Society raises endowment funding for it

    More
  • grantee: Duke University
    amount: $63,249
    city: Durham, NC
    year: 2010

    To investigate how consumers process complex financial data and decisions

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator John Payne

    To investigate how consumers process complex financial data and decisions

    More
  • grantee: Columbia University
    amount: $85,682
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2010

    To perform experiments on how consumers' characteristics affect their annuity decisions

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Eric Johnson

    To perform experiments on how consumers' characteristics affect their annuity decisions

    More
  • grantee: University of Pennsylvania
    amount: $35,000
    city: Philadelphia, PA
    year: 2010

    To devise a research program on choice engines that help consumers make better insurance decisions

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Thomas Baker

    To devise a research program on choice engines that help consumers make better insurance decisions

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Los Angeles
    amount: $70,385
    city: Los Angeles, CA
    year: 2010

    To test how choice architecture can affect how consumers make intertemporal tradeoffs

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Suzanne Shu

    To test how choice architecture can affect how consumers make intertemporal tradeoffs

    More
  • grantee: Harvard University
    amount: $34,951
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2010

    To study how risk databases and choice engines can improve consumers' financial decisions

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Daniel Carpenter

    To study how risk databases and choice engines can improve consumers' financial decisions

    More
  • grantee: University of Colorado, Boulder
    amount: $122,263
    city: Boulder, CO
    year: 2010

    To study how and why consumers give up on making complex financial decisions

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator John Lynch

    To study how and why consumers give up on making complex financial decisions

    More
  • grantee: Harvard University
    amount: $19,575
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2010

    To study career choice in terms of the benefits to society and tax costs to individuals

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Elaine Bernard

    To study career choice in terms of the benefits to society and tax costs to individuals

    More
  • grantee: University of Maryland, College Park
    amount: $20,000
    city: College Park, MD
    year: 2010

    To hold a workshop on "Frameworks for Systemic Risk Monitoring"

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Clifford Rossi

    To hold a workshop on "Frameworks for Systemic Risk Monitoring"

    More
  • grantee: Bibliotheca Alexandrina
    amount: $20,000
    city: Alexandria, Egypt
    year: 2010

    As partial support for the scientific component of a major conference seeking improved U.S.-Muslim cooperation

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Hala Abdelwahab

    As partial support for the scientific component of a major conference seeking improved U.S.-Muslim cooperation

    More
  • grantee: University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez
    amount: $72,187
    city: Mayaguez, PR
    year: 2010

    To fund a final year of the Ph.D. Feeder Program in the Department of Chemical Engineering (For Discussion Only)

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Jose Colucci-Rios

    To fund a final year of the Ph.D. Feeder Program in the Department of Chemical Engineering (For Discussion Only)

    More
  • grantee: Arius Association
    amount: $73,128
    city: Baden, Switzerland
    year: 2010

    To determine the feasibility of establishing multinational working groups that will explore the creation of regional nuclear waste repositories outside of Europe

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Charles McCombie

    To determine the feasibility of establishing multinational working groups that will explore the creation of regional nuclear waste repositories outside of Europe

    More
  • grantee: Science Festival Foundation
    amount: $50,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2010

    To support Icarus at the Edge of Time, a new multimedia performance piece that dramatizes ideas about time, black holes and relativity

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program New Media
    • Investigator Brian Greene

    To support Icarus at the Edge of Time, a new multimedia performance piece that dramatizes ideas about time, black holes and relativity

    More
  • grantee: The University of Chicago
    amount: $35,186
    city: Chicago, IL
    year: 2010

    To support a two-day workshop on data visualization, imaging, and repositories for the Indoor Environment Program

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Folker Meyer

    To support a two-day workshop on data visualization, imaging, and repositories for the Indoor Environment Program

    More
  • grantee: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    amount: $274,965
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2010

    To foster multilateral cooperation in trade, financial regulation, and macroeconomic policy by organizing a forum for leading academics and officials

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Robert Feenstra

    Crises have a way of bringing out "every man for himself" instincts just when cooperation and coordination are most needed. This kind of thinking in 1930 resulted in America's Smoot-Hawley tariff. Its passage provoked the imposition of retaliatory tariffs by many other countries, reduced U.S. exports and imports by 50 percent, and, by most accounts, directly helped bring on the Great Depression. There is considerable reason, therefore, to avoid making similar mistakes in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis. Robert Feenstra and Alan Taylor are organizing a Global Forum for the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) on the topic "Globalization in an Age of Crisis: Multilateral Economic Cooperation in the Twenty-First Century." The event, to be hosted by the Bank of England, is specifically designed to facilitate interaction among leading academics and policymakers from around the world, including existing Sloan Foundation grantees working on theoretical, historical, or institutional aspects of international economics. Participants will be expected not only to critique the research, data, and analyses presented, but also to formulate plans and initiatives for fostering multilateral economic cooperation in the wake of financial turmoil.

    To foster multilateral cooperation in trade, financial regulation, and macroeconomic policy by organizing a forum for leading academics and officials

    More
  • grantee: Peter G. Peterson Institute for International Economics
    amount: $245,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2010

    To analyze empirical lessons that countries can learn from the financial crisis about how to restructure their financial sectors

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Adam Posen

    Policies instituted during the 2008 financial crisis may have averted total disaster, but many of these can also make matters worse if left in place. For example, the forced merging of banks now makes the "too big to fail" problem all the more vexing. The structural, regulatory, and institutional reforms needed to address such problems globally will be the subject of a book project led by Adam Posen, a Senior Fellow at the Peter G. Peterson Institute of International Economics. Those who have begun trying to imagine new structures for the banking and financial sector are, according to Posen, often hobbled by unproven myths about regulation, industrial organization, disclosure requirements, and the incentive systems for banks and bankers. Adam Posen is working on how to indentify, justify, and coordinate the implementation of new financial structures going forward, and funds from this grant provide necessary support for this ongoing work.

    To analyze empirical lessons that countries can learn from the financial crisis about how to restructure their financial sectors

    More
  • grantee: Harvard University
    amount: $293,299
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2010

    To study behavioral factors that influence consumers' energy utilization and efficiency choices

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Sendhil Mullainathan

    Engineers have been writing for years about how simple steps like home weatherization can save consumers considerable money. Relatively few consumers, however, take such simple, cost-saving steps. Among economists, this puzzling phenomenon is sometimes called the "Energy Efficiency Paradox." This grant will support the work of Harvard economist Sendhil Mullainathan and the "ideas42" research group he leads, as they pursue six related research projects, all grounded in empirical observation, studying how people make energy consumption and utilization decisions and what policy-relevant conclusions might be drawn from what is learned. The results may be surprising. In previous work with the company OPOWER, for example, Mullainathan's group found that giving consumers information about their neighbors' energy use had significantly greater impact than just providing information about their own energy consumption. Utility companies and federal agencies are presently spending huge amounts of money on energy efficiency and metering programs based on very little in the way of theory, evidence, or experiment. Together with a project manager and several research assistants funded through this grant, the team of outstanding economists, energy experts, psychologists, and marketers that make up "ideas42" are poised to make important contributions to our understanding of the "Energy Efficiency Paradox" and other apparent behavioral anomalies that can be observed when consumers make energy-related decisions.

    To study behavioral factors that influence consumers' energy utilization and efficiency choices

    More
  • grantee: National Academy of Sciences
    amount: $150,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2010

    To support public interaction with the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator William Skane

    The President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) makes recommendations directly to the President and to the Executive Office of the President. The current co-chairs are Nobel Laureate Harold Varmus, President of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and Professor Eric Lander, Director of the Broad Institute at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard. Important in any administration, PCAST now has especially high stature and an ambitious agenda. For this reason, leaders from PCAST and from the National Academy of Sciences have asked Sloan to join with other private foundations in supporting PCAST as it implements President Obama's call for more open government. Many of the planned report topics are of special interest to the Foundation, including education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics; influenza vaccinology; energy research; and carbon offsets. Two thirds of funding from this grant will support travel by approximately ten outside experts to participate in each of ten PCAST meetings. The other third supports electronic communication with the public through webcasts, policy wikis, and other innovative outreach services including social networking.

    To support public interaction with the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology

    More
  • grantee: Public Library of Science
    amount: $400,000
    city: San Francisco, CA
    year: 2010

    To develop online hubs as a mechanism for organizing scientific content after it is published

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Peter Jerram

    Founded in 2000, the Public Library of Science (PLoS) is a driving force in the "open access" movement to make the results of scientific research available to everyone. PLoS's vision: a place where anyone from scientists to students to the public could access scientific research online and at no charge. PLoS essentially treats all scientific literature and its associated databases and commentary as a continuous, ever-growing relational database to be explored, mined, and recombined. Under traditional models, scientific papers are sequestered in a specialty, such as Arctic biology, even when the paper might have content equally relevant to marine mammals or molecular ecology. In 2008 and 2009 the Foundation provided grants to PLoS to develop a business plan for creating online "hubs" around scientific and medical subjects and then to create prototypes for subjects of special interest to Sloan, such as DNA barcoding and marine biodiversity. Importantly, PLoS links to all open-access material, not only to material published by PLoS itself. And it will also point to material that is not open-access, even if users may meet frustration in clicking on gated links. The Foundation increasingly sees the concept of PLoS hubs as central to scholarly practice in areas of Foundation interest, including emerging fields such as the microbiology of the indoor environment and Earth's deep carbon. Funds from this grant will support PLoS in the creation of online hubs as a mechanism for organizing scientific content after it is published.

    To develop online hubs as a mechanism for organizing scientific content after it is published

    More
  • grantee: National Academy of Sciences
    amount: $300,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2010

    As partial support for project to assess the health of U.S. research universities

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Peter Henderson

    This grant would provide partial support for a proposed 18-month National Academies study to assess the financial, organizational, and intellectual health of U.S. research universities. This assessment has been requested by a bipartisan group of four influential members of Congress: Senators Barbara Mikulski and Lamar Alexander, and Representatives Bart Gordon and Ralph Hall. Research universities are central to most Sloan programs and the Foundation has a longstanding interest in their financial, organizational, and intellectual strength. The health of many of these institutions is arguably in question now, due to the severe fiscal problems faced by most state governments that have led to sharp budget stringencies on public research universities, and the parallel endowment declines and other financial challenges being faced by private research universities. Funds from this grant represent 20 percent of the total study budget of $1.5 million.

    As partial support for project to assess the health of U.S. research universities

    More
  • grantee: Tribeca Film Institute
    amount: $192,784
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2010

    To create a two-year pilot to establish an annual Sloan Grand Jury Prize for the Best Student Science Screenplay and to develop this script through the Tribeca/Sloan Filmmaker Fund

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Beth Janson

    This grant to the Tribeca Film Institute will fund a pilot program to establish an annual Grand Jury Prize award for the single best student screenplay among the Foundation's six film school partners and to develop that script towards production. The aim of the award is to stimulate greater interest and excitement among the participating film schools and film students by awarding a "best of the best" prize and by fast-tracking the winning project for development so it becomes a major career opportunity for the winner. If successful, the award promises to lift the visibility and prestige of both of the winning filmmaker, his school, and the Sloan Film program as a whole.

    To create a two-year pilot to establish an annual Sloan Grand Jury Prize for the Best Student Science Screenplay and to develop this script through the Tribeca/Sloan Filmmaker Fund

    More
  • grantee: American Museum of the Moving Image
    amount: $239,631
    city: Astoria, NY
    year: 2010

    To showcase award-winning student films and to maintain a go-to site for all Sloan film and television projects and for all Sloan Film Program participants

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Carl Goodman

    This grant supports the continued operation of the Sloan Science and Film website, scienceandfilm.org. Hosted and operated by the American Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI), America's leading film museum, the site showcases student films produced by the Foundation's film school partners and provides a synopsis of all film projects under development with the Foundation's six film school and four film festival partners, promoting the Sloan Film program while serving as a key resource for program participants. The MoMI website remains an essential component of the Sloan Film program and the nearest thing to one-stop shopping for those seeking to learn about the program in all its aspects. The site has approximately 50 award-winning Sloan films available in their entirety for live streaming, making it an up-to-date showcase and a constantly evolving cinematheque for science film shorts. In addition, the site has an interactive directory that lists and describes every winning student screenplay and film, and includes every film project under development with our four main partners: Sundance, Hamptons, Tribeca and Film Independent. The MoMI Sloan Science and Film website remains a unique, state-of-the art feature that very few non-profit programs, or even for-profit film companies, can boast.

    To showcase award-winning student films and to maintain a go-to site for all Sloan film and television projects and for all Sloan Film Program participants

    More
  • grantee: National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, Inc.
    amount: $4,050,463
    city: White Plains, NY
    year: 2010

    To fund new obligations incurred in the Sloan Minority Ph.D. Program and the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership Program from July 1, 2010 through July 1, 2011

    • Program Higher Education
    • Initiative Minority Ph.D.
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Aileen Walter

    The National Action Council for Miniorities in Engineering (NACME) has been the Foundation's longtime partner in its grantmaking in the Education for Underrepresented Groups program, administering both the Minority Ph.D. program and the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership. NACME receives applications, selects students for scholarships, administers awards, and supports recruitment efforts by participating faculty. This grant funds new obligations in these programs incurred from July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2011. Funds will be used to provide scholarships to newly accepted minority Ph.D. students in both programs, support efforts to recruit new students, and support established "feeder" programs at North Carolina A&T and the University of Puerto Rico that have proven successful in graduating minority students who go on to graduate study in science and engineering.

    To fund new obligations incurred in the Sloan Minority Ph.D. Program and the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership Program from July 1, 2010 through July 1, 2011

    More
  • grantee: University of Arizona
    amount: $144,540
    city: Tucson, AZ
    year: 2010

    To fund, for an additional three years, the recruitment and retention portion of the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership at the University of Arizona

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Maria Velez

    The University of Arizona was the first campus to participate in the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership and it remains the flagship of the program. Funds from this grant will support the University's efforts to recruit qualified indigenous students to its program, and to provide the resources and institutional support necessary to meet the needs of students from indigenous or tribal backgrounds. Providing such support is a crucial component of enabling indigenous students to successfully complete graduate work, and the University of Arizona anticipates that through its efforts, degree completion among supported students will exceed 90%, an estimate consistent with its record thus far

    To fund, for an additional three years, the recruitment and retention portion of the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership at the University of Arizona

    More
  • grantee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    amount: $250,000
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2010

    To examine the effects of globalization on U.S. domestic regulatory policies, compliance, and economics in biopharmaceutical product manufacturing

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Anthony Sinskey

    The use of biopharmaceutical products has increased greatly over the past twenty years and is expected to continue to increase in volume and importance in years to come. Like many other manufacturing operations, there has been a substantial increase in the globalization of biopharmaceutical production within the last five to ten years. The FDA, the Government Accountability Office, and Congress are well aware of the challenges and tradeoffs involved when industries globalize, and in response the FDA has adjusted its inspection policies and practices. Funds from this grant will support a multidisciplinary team of researchers based at MIT's Center for Biomedical Innovation and led by Georgetown University Professor Jeffrey Macher, in their work to study how globalization has changed regulatory practice surrounding the production and distribution of biopharmaceuticals.

    To examine the effects of globalization on U.S. domestic regulatory policies, compliance, and economics in biopharmaceutical product manufacturing

    More
  • grantee: Ensemble Studio Theatre, Inc.
    amount: $1,701,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2010

    To commission, develop, produce and disseminate new science plays in New York and across the country

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Theater
    • Investigator William Carden

    The Ensemble Studio Theatre (EST), recently voted the leading developmental theater company in New York and the number-two-ranked developmental theater in the United States, is the flagship of Sloan's theater program. This grant will provide three more years of support for the theatre's ongoing program to commission, develop, produce, and disseminate new science plays in New York and across the country. EST continues to be a powerful engine for new science plays. In addition to three outstanding Mainstage Productions at their storied 52nd Street home-Lucy, End Days and Lenin's Embalmers-EST has presented or sponsored 16 play readings and 12 play workshops, as well as a studio production at EST and a satellite production at P.S. 122. The Ensemble Studio Theatre continues to generate an enormous volume of quality science plays that have broadened the public's understanding of science and technology and helped narrow the gap between the two cultures in innovative ways.

    To commission, develop, produce and disseminate new science plays in New York and across the country

    More
  • grantee: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
    amount: $124,968
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2010

    To support infrastructure and business planning activities of CrisisCommons

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Investigator David Rejeski

    To support infrastructure and business planning activities of CrisisCommons

    More
  • grantee: University of Washington
    amount: $6,800
    city: Seattle, WA
    year: 2010

    To partially fund a meeting of engineering deans who participated in the Project to Assess Climate in Engineering

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Suzanne Brainard

    To partially fund a meeting of engineering deans who participated in the Project to Assess Climate in Engineering

    More
  • grantee: Brigham Young University
    amount: $39,926
    city: Provo, UT
    year: 2010

    For an analytic review of research on aging and work in the academy

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Michael Ransom

    For an analytic review of research on aging and work in the academy

    More
  • grantee: Clean Air Task Force
    amount: $10,000
    city: Boston, MA
    year: 2010

    To plan a full scale study of US energy efficiency potential on the building and industrial sector

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Steven Brick

    To plan a full scale study of US energy efficiency potential on the building and industrial sector

    More
  • grantee: University of Texas, Austin
    amount: $125,000
    city: Austin, TX
    year: 2010

    To explore the opportunities and obstacles to the growth of natural gas as a primary energy source

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Initiative Shale Gas
    • Investigator Scott Tinker

    To explore the opportunities and obstacles to the growth of natural gas as a primary energy source

    More
  • grantee: University of Missouri, Columbia
    amount: $25,000
    city: Columbia, MO
    year: 2010

    For the Committee of Concerned Journalists to host an inaugural meeting and produce a white paper on shortcomings in media coverage of the recession and to suggest ways for greater depth of coverage for financial issues

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program New Media
    • Investigator Mark Carter

    For the Committee of Concerned Journalists to host an inaugural meeting and produce a white paper on shortcomings in media coverage of the recession and to suggest ways for greater depth of coverage for financial issues

    More
  • grantee: Yale University
    amount: $25,047
    city: New Haven, CT
    year: 2010

    To provide partial support for the 2010 Sloan-Swartz Meeting on Computational Neuroscience

    • Program Science
    • Investigator Xiao-Jing Wang

    To provide partial support for the 2010 Sloan-Swartz Meeting on Computational Neuroscience

    More
  • grantee: American Indian College Fund
    amount: $100,000
    city: Denver, CO
    year: 2010

    To increase the number of faculty at Tribal Colleges and Universities possessing a Ph.D. in mathematics, natural science, or engineering

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Dennis Carder

    To increase the number of faculty at Tribal Colleges and Universities possessing a Ph.D. in mathematics, natural science, or engineering

    More
  • grantee: Science Festival Foundation
    amount: $45,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2009

    To develop an educational outreach initiative for the World Science Festival

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program New Media
    • Investigator Tracy Day

    To develop an educational outreach initiative for the World Science Festival

    More
  • grantee: The Brookings Institution
    amount: $605,347
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2009

    For an annual and independent forum that will identify, analyze, discuss, and promote options for international monetary reform

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Eswar Prasad

    Multinational financial organizations like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) can sometimes become insular, politicized, ponderous, and unaccountable. That is why Raghuram Rajan from the University of Chicago and Barry Eichengreen from the University of California, Berkeley, plan on establishing an independent "Council on International Monetary Reform" (CIMR) to monitor, advise, consult with, and critique the IMF. These two professors are among the world's most respected and engaged authorities on international financial and monetary economics. The CIMR will consist of fewer than 18 members representing a balanced variety of countries, ideologies, and economic approaches. The grant budget provides for a CIMR planning conference followed by three annual meetings. The Council will interact with senior IMF officials, with attendees at the main IMF meetings each fall, and with the media as well. Establishing this CIMR is just one component of the Sloan Foundation's developing initiative on international financial regulation. The goal of this entire initiative is to inform, prepare, and eventually institute significant reforms of the international financial and monetary system.

    For an annual and independent forum that will identify, analyze, discuss, and promote options for international monetary reform

    More
  • grantee: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    amount: $349,324
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2009

    To stimulate new academic research on global aspects of the financial crisis and "Great Recession"

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Kristin Forbes

    Surprisingly few ideas from the field of international economics have turned out to be useful either in the run-up to the recent financial upheaval or in its aftermath. To reinvigorate the field of international macroeconomics, Kristin Forbes of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Jeff Frankel of Harvard University are organizing a National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) project on "The Global Financial Crisis." Pairing the two of them illustrates how their project, like everything NBER does, will be strictly non-partisan and aimed at developing fundamental understanding rather than explicit policy recommendation. For example, three basic research questions this project will concentrate on are: How did global imbalances contribute to the crisis? How was the crisis transmitted internationally? How has the global nature of the crisis affected macroeconomic policy ranging from fiscal and monetary policy to bank regulation and the role of the dollar? The plan is to issue a broad call for proposals to prepare and present papers on these topics, commission a dozen of the best submitted in the competitive solicitation, post them as working papers, and hold a pre-conference with assigned discussants to provide critiques. Refocusing and revitalizing research on international macroeconomics like this is just one component of the Sloan Foundation's developing initiative on international financial regulation. The goal of this entire initiative is to inform, prepare, and eventually institute significant reforms of the international financial and monetary system.

    To stimulate new academic research on global aspects of the financial crisis and "Great Recession"

    More
  • grantee: Open Knowledge Commons, Inc.
    amount: $330,000
    city: Boston, MA
    year: 2009

    To support the Open Knowledge Commons in uniting the library community and the public behind the implementation of a universal digital library

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Universal Access to Knowledge
    • Investigator Maura Marx

    This is a request for Maura Marx, executive director of the Open Knowledge Commons (OKC), to build the organization's base and public profile, and to develop a national digital strategy that will appeal to policymakers as well as libraries. We created the Open Knowledge Commons out of a previous grant to the Internet Archive due to the need for strengthening existing partnerships and forging new alliances with libraries, archives, funders, legislators and the public behind a universal digital library. Maura Marx, recruited after a national search, spent her first year trying to work out a rapprochement with the Internet Archive and when that became unfeasible, recruiting a new Board of Directors and setting up a new not-for-profit organization, incorporated in Massachusetts. Marx now requests one year of support to help consolidate and expand the role of OKC in developing a blueprint for a national strategy for book digitization that will be useful to policy makers as well as the library community and to create demonstration projects that showcase the benefits of such a blueprint. OKC is the only organization devoted exclusively to this vision and it fills a very important gap. Marx proposes to move OKC to the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard and to work to develop the intellectual, social and legal framework to foster the strengths of this new digital environment. We view the Open Knowledge Commons as a key vehicle to develop and implement our own program in digital information technology as we seek to create a realistic digital library with universal appeal.

    To support the Open Knowledge Commons in uniting the library community and the public behind the implementation of a universal digital library

    More
  • grantee: Open Knowledge Commons, Inc.
    amount: $1,528,170
    city: Boston, MA
    year: 2009

    To create the first phase of a universal open digital library on the history of medicine from the collections of five leading institutions

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Universal Access to Knowledge
    • Investigator Maura Marx

    The Foundation helped create the Open Knowledge Commons (OKC) in order to have more community building efforts in our open digitization initiatives and to catalyze new large?scale collaborations among libraries. This request is the first major digitization effort from OKC, and it involves creating an open digital library focusing on the history of medicine as a theme and drawing on the participation of five major institutions: the National Library of Medicine (NML); the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine at Harvard Medical School; the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University; the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University; and the New York Public Library. There are enthusiastic letters of endorsement from all five institutions, which include three of the leading collections in the world (NML, Harvard, and Yale). Following an initial phase of digitization of public domain monographs, they would also create a de?duplication database to prevent redundancy of efforts, a tool based on that used by the successful Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL). The BHL is a model for this theme?based approach to scanning. The history of medicine is a very rich discipline intellectually that cuts across many fields. It is estimated that the entire field numbers about 1,500,000 volumes, of which half (750,000) are pamphlets, including dissertations, one third (500,000) are serial volumes, and the remaining sixth (250,000) are monographs. This effort would digitize 30,000 monographs or just over 10% of the existing collection. This effort would be a collaborative venture taking into account the scholarly needs and sensitivities of the academic and library communities which have not always felt well-served by existing digitization efforts. Given the new economic environment as well as the Google juggernaut, we need to be more selective and strategic about our digitization efforts and to try to build wider collaboration and coordination among interested users that will also benefit the general public.

    To create the first phase of a universal open digital library on the history of medicine from the collections of five leading institutions

    More
  • grantee: New York Public Radio
    amount: $225,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2009

    For the production and distribution of RadioLab, an innovative science-themed show on public radio

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Radio
    • Investigator Ellen Horne

    WNYC requests a one-year renewal for Radiolab, the award-winning science series produced in conjunction with National Public Radio (NPR), for the production and distribution of ten one-hour science-themed shows. WNYC's Radiolab, one of the most innovative public radio shows in the country, which Sloan helped launch, also produces ten feature science-based pieces that are broadcast on National Public Radio magazine shows Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Weekend Edition, and over 20 podcasts worth of additional material. Radiolab is unique, fresh, informative and inspiring-an exemplary radio show about science with the most original sound heard in many years that has found a large, receptive, and relatively young public audience. Radiolab continues to be an asset for Sloan's Program in Public Understanding of Science, Technology, Business, and Economics; it is a smart science radio series with an interesting sound whose popularity continues to grow.

    For the production and distribution of RadioLab, an innovative science-themed show on public radio

    More
  • grantee: Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association Inc.
    amount: $1,500,000
    city: Arlington, VA
    year: 2009

    For on-air and online coverage of economic and financial literacy on The PBS NewsHour

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Television
    • Investigator Simon Marks

    Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association, Inc., requests two years of funding for enhanced economics coverage on The PBS NewsHour (The NewsHour), both on-air and online. The NewsHour continues to be the most serious and effective news show on television and has impressively maintained an audience of 1.2 million viewers nightly, higher than every news show except Fox News and the networks. Sloan's 2008 grant for public understanding of economics on The NewsHour resulted in a very impressive output-twice the number of on-air spots by Paul Solman about economic and financial literacy as originally envisioned. A reviewer remarked of Solman: "Among us professors of economics he is regarded as the best economics reporter on television." Few people even try to achieve this, and none are as qualified as Solman or have a better platform from which to teach. As one reviewer noted, "His reports are as unbiased and accurate as the discipline of economics allows them to be. He rarely presents a perspective as his alone. Instead, he finds the relevant experts, and lets them speak for themselves." An important component of this grant is the Web site. Currently, The NewsHour Web site attracts about half a million visitors a week and about 100,000 visit the three Sloan-supported economics sites. Just under a million users have visited Solman's site in the past six months and 720,000 have downloaded his material. This request represents a 25% reduction from the previous grant-from $1 million to $750,000 per year-for 40 ten-minute economics segments on the show each year, plus enhanced educational outreach through the Web, social networking sites and other media. The reduction reflects in part our diminished financial resources and in part it is a signal to The NewsHour that we expect them to take very seriously our suggested improvements to their Web site and our desire to more prominently feature Paul Solman on it. Support of this series gives us a direct line to Solman for suggesting topics and guests and provides the Public Understanding of Science, Technology, Business, and Economics Program with an outstanding and cost-effective vehicle for providing strong, consistent, economics coverage.

    For on-air and online coverage of economic and financial literacy on The PBS NewsHour

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Berkeley
    amount: $333,500
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2009

    To improve understanding of copyright economics in the digital age

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Stephen Maurer

    The "copyright clause" of the U.S. Constitution empowers Congress "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries." Digitization has made intellectual property issues like this so important that, for the first time, the President has appointed a "copyright czar" to serve in the White House. Students face huge fines for sharing songs over the Internet, for example. Incentives to create or share innovations appear threatened. And the proposed "Google Settlement" could (arguably) monopolize access to certain books, including "orphan works," as discussed at the recent meeting hosted by the Sloan Foundation on "Open Access and Dissemination of Knowledge" and a brief filed by the United States Department of Justice in the U.S. District Court reviewing the Settlement. How can research help? Whereas patenting has been studied extensively by legal scholars and economists, thorough theoretical and empirical analyses of copyright policy and its effects in the digital age remain yet to be done. To this end, Berkeley Professor of Economics, Law, and Public Policy-Suzanne Scotchmer-proposes to study the benefits, costs, and distributional consequences of potential solutions to a set of copyright problems. One is compulsory licensing by collective rights management organizations like Broadcast Music, Inc. (music performance rights) and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. This project will help provide theoretical foundations for a Sloan Foundation initiative that will sponsor further theoretical, empirical, and interdisciplinary research on copyright policy and information goods.

    To improve understanding of copyright economics in the digital age

    More
  • grantee: Consortium for Mathematics and Its Applications (COMAP) Inc.
    amount: $19,580
    city: Lexington, MA
    year: 2009

    To survey, inform, and plan improvements in education about finance and decision making

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Solomon Garfunkel

    To survey, inform, and plan improvements in education about finance and decision making

    More
  • grantee: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    amount: $20,000
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2009

    To develop a research program and data survey on the economics of the copyright system

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Scott Stern

    To develop a research program and data survey on the economics of the copyright system

    More
  • grantee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    amount: $20,000
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2009

    To prepare and post a comprehensive data base for studying the effects of rent control

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator David Autor

    To prepare and post a comprehensive data base for studying the effects of rent control

    More
  • grantee: Thurgood Marshall College Fund
    amount: $34,750
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2009

    To plan the launching of a program through which Thurgood Marshall College Fund universities would collect and analyze data on student retention and migration in STEM disciplines

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Rebecca Bennett

    To plan the launching of a program through which Thurgood Marshall College Fund universities would collect and analyze data on student retention and migration in STEM disciplines

    More
  • grantee: Committee on Capital Markets Regulation, Inc.
    amount: $120,200
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2009

    To investigate the role of market discipline in regulating the risks taken by financial institutions

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Hal Scott

    To investigate the role of market discipline in regulating the risks taken by financial institutions

    More
  • grantee: National Academy of Sciences
    amount: $45,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2009

    To develop a web site for Science and Entertainment Exchange

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Barbara Pope

    To develop a web site for Science and Entertainment Exchange

    More
  • grantee: American Council on Education
    amount: $49,900
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2009

    Support exploratory project on the latter stages of faculty careers

    • Program Working Longer
    • Investigator Claire Van Ummersen

    Support exploratory project on the latter stages of faculty careers

    More
  • grantee: New York Academy of Sciences
    amount: $20,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2009

    Partial support to actively engage ca. 100 science/math teachers and administrators from the seven schools of 2009 Sloan Awardees for Excellence in the Teaching of Science and Mathematics as core participants in planned NYC Science Education initiative

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Stacie Bloom

    Partial support to actively engage ca. 100 science/math teachers and administrators from the seven schools of 2009 Sloan Awardees for Excellence in the Teaching of Science and Mathematics as core participants in planned NYC Science Education initiative

    More
  • grantee: University of Oregon
    amount: $119,948
    city: Eugene, OR
    year: 2009

    To conduct a case study of a health care facility examining the role of natural vs. mechanical ventilation on indoor air microbial diversity and abundance

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Jessica Green

    To conduct a case study of a health care facility examining the role of natural vs. mechanical ventilation on indoor air microbial diversity and abundance

    More
  • grantee: Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research
    amount: $63,625
    city: Newark, DE
    year: 2009

    To explore the value and feasibility of a global experiment in which human additions of noise to the oceans would be vastly reduced for several hours

    • Program Science
    • Investigator Edward Urban

    To explore the value and feasibility of a global experiment in which human additions of noise to the oceans would be vastly reduced for several hours

    More
  • grantee: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    amount: $107,410
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2009

    To promote research on the economics of household finance

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Peter Tufano

    To promote research on the economics of household finance

    More
  • grantee: Resources for the Future, Inc.
    amount: $202,264
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2009

    To ensure that appropriate economic data will be collected and distributed concerning new policies for regulating Green House Gas emissions

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Juha Siikamaki

    Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. will have significant impacts on our economy. There are strong positive and negative precedents for how to go about this. Powerful industry opposition to the transparent data collection and release was successfully overcome by prominent economists like Paul Joskow working through the Acid Rain Advisory Council. The thorough studies this made possible have helped make cap-and-trade for sulfur dioxide successful, most notably the definitive book Markets for Clean Air: The U.S. Acid Rain Program by Ellerman, Joskow, Schmalensee, Montero, and Bailey. Resources for the Future (RFF) has realized not only that it is critical to learn from past successes like this and build reporting requirements into the regulatory plans now being formulated, they have also recognized the need to train a new generation of scholars who will have a stake in monitoring and analyzing the data going forward many years. This project will also cooperate with an ongoing RFF study of how to measure carbon sequestration in forests that the Sloan Foundation has funded. Such grants do not necessarily signal the beginning of a full climate change program at the Sloan Foundation, but are consistent with our emphasis on promoting open access to information and enabling non-partisan policy relevant research.

    To ensure that appropriate economic data will be collected and distributed concerning new policies for regulating Green House Gas emissions

    More
  • grantee: Cornell University
    amount: $183,809
    city: Ithaca, NY
    year: 2009

    To develop, test, and propagate innovative Bayesian methods for estimating and regulating risks taken on by financial institutions

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Nicholas Kiefer

    Nicholas Kiefer of Cornell University is developing new analytical techniques directly motivated by and applicable to the needs of effective international bank regulation. Specifically, the Basel Accords set standards for determining how much capital a bank should be required to keep in reserve to guard against financial and operating risks. There are two main approaches that statisticians use to estimate probabilities. Frequentists think of the probability of an event (say, flipping heads with a coin) as the long run proportion of repeated trials when it occurs. By contrast, Bayesian statisticians approach an estimation problem with subjective beliefs about the "prior probability" and then concentrate on systematically using whatever data becomes available to update their estimates. Through further consultations with practitioners, more research publications, continued work with graduate students, and the development of a course on Bayesian risk estimation in finance, this project stands to improve the understanding, management, and regulation of financial risk.

    To develop, test, and propagate innovative Bayesian methods for estimating and regulating risks taken on by financial institutions

    More
  • grantee: Business History Conference
    amount: $400,000
    city: Wilmington, DE
    year: 2009

    To establish a Ralph Gomory Prize in honor of Ralph Gomory for his 18 years of outstanding leadership of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

    • Program Economics
    • Investigator Roger Horowitz

    At the December 11, 2007 Board meeting, the Trustees established an authorization of $400,000 to honor Ralph Gomory and authorize Ralph to develop a plan on how the authorization would be used. A plan was to be developed by Ralph Gomory. This grant to the Business History Conference will establish a prize to honor Ralph Gomory. The Ralph Gomory Prize will recognize historical work focused on the effects that business enterprises have on the economic conditions of a country in which they operate. Beginning in 2011, two prizes of $5,000 each will be awarded annually, one for a book and the second for an article, and may be for work published in the two years prior to the year of the award. The grant will be separated into an endowment and an advertising fund intended to be used up in the early years of the award to enhance its visibility and to generate nominations. The endowment portion of the gift shall comprise at least 85% of the principal and be invested such that the prize can exist in perpetuity. In any given year, expenditures from this endowment can exceed no more than five (5) percent of the value of the endowment at the end of the previous year.

    To establish a Ralph Gomory Prize in honor of Ralph Gomory for his 18 years of outstanding leadership of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

    More
  • grantee: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
    amount: $250,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2009

    To support the Carnegie Endowment's project to develop a voluntary code of conduct for nuclear reactor vendors

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator George Perkovich

    The Trustees will recall that the Foundation funded an MIT study called The Future of Nuclear Power a few years ago. That study has turned out to be extremely influential in the policy arena in the U.S. and Europe. For many months we have been looking into what more the Foundation might do in the area of nuclear energy and other nuclear technologies that would be useful and not duplicative of what other funders are doing. We have developed the following objective: To facilitate the strengthening or creation of institutional arrangements that enable nuclear technology and nuclear materials to be used for beneficial purposes (including power generation, research, medical uses and industrial purposes) with safety and minimal risk of nuclear terrorism or nuclear weapons proliferation. The focus on institutional arrangements would be the special perspective that the Sloan Foundation brings to the issue. There is wide agreement in the world that the rules governing the use of nuclear technology and materials, especially those associated with nuclear power reactors and their fuel cycle, need major revision to minimize the safety, security and proliferation risks intrinsically associated with these technologies and materials. However, there is no consensus among governments or others on what such revised rules should allow and constrain. Governments have been slow to move and international organizations cannot move ahead of what their member governments will agree to. The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace has been working for a year with the world's nuclear reactor vendors, including notably vendors from Russia, China, and Korea, as well as from the United States, Europe, Japan and Canada, to draft such a voluntary Code of Conduct. Carnegie and its partners have made remarkably good progress but they are far from done. They need at least another year to complete the job. Three more meetings are planned for 2010, one in Washington and two overseas. The estimated cost for the project through 2010 is $530,000. The Carnegie Endowment has commitments to cover $180,000 of this, including funds from the Hewlett Foundation which largely paid for the first year, and a $100,000 request pending with another foundation. They request $250,000 from us to enable the project to move forward in the manner and at the pace all participants prefer. This is an ambitious project and is not guaranteed to succeed. If it does succeed, however, as now seems likely, the resultant voluntary Code of Conduct would be a major achievement.

    To support the Carnegie Endowment's project to develop a voluntary code of conduct for nuclear reactor vendors

    More
  • grantee: American Academy of Arts and Sciences
    amount: $302,009
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2009

    To identify and promote measures that will limit the security and proliferation risks inherent in the global expansion of nuclear power

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Steven Miller

    This nuclear project is the Global Nuclear Future Initiative of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The goal of this project is to identify and promote measures that will limit the security and proliferation risks inherent in the global expansion of nuclear power. Two important features of the project are that it has deeply engaged the U.S. nuclear utilities into these discussions for the first time and it is working hard to understand and incorporate the perspectives of non-nuclear weapons states, especially those that aspire to launch new nuclear power programs. The full cost of the project over the next two years is $1.3 million, of which $1 million has been raised from other foundations and a private donor. The American Academy has asked us for the balance, $300,000 over two years, specifically for the work on multi-national fuel cycle facilities and strengthening the non-proliferation regime.

    To identify and promote measures that will limit the security and proliferation risks inherent in the global expansion of nuclear power

    More
  • grantee: American Film Institute
    amount: $270,000
    city: Los Angeles, CA
    year: 2009

    For screenwriting and production of science and technology films by the top film students

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Joe Petricca

    This is a three-year renewal grant from the American Film Institute (AFI), one of the nation's leading film schools, to continue awarding tuition stipends, screenwriting and production awards for Science and Technology (S&T) films and to hold an annual S&T seminar. The film school program, supported for over a decade now, has been successful as measured by both quantity and quality of work. Beyond that, it is the cornerstone of our broader film program because it has created a growing body of work-and an emerging cadre of talented filmmakers-all focusing on S&T films. AFI has a unique status as a national film conservatory and their finished Sloan films, such as Skylab and The Monster and the Peanut, traditionally have the best production values and the most sophisticated "look" of all Sloan films. AFI has been very sensitive to the economic situation and this request is substantially lower than their previous request. The Foundation has supported this work at the American Film Institute since 1996 with total grants of $1,301,275.

    For screenwriting and production of science and technology films by the top film students

    More
  • grantee: Tribeca Film Institute
    amount: $700,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2009

    To develop new science and technology feature films for production and to showcase science and technology films and hold panels at the Tribeca Film Festival

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Beth Janson

    The Tribeca Film Institute (TFI) requests two more years of support for the TFI Sloan Filmmaker Fund and Retrospective Screening and Discussion Series. Our early partnership with Jane Rosenthal and Robert De Niro at the Tribeca Film Festival-of which we were founding sponsors-has yielded several high profile projects that helped establish our film credibility. Tribeca has shrewdly begun pulling together the most promising Sloan projects from other programs, as well as developing its own, to give us the strongest suite of film projects we've ever had. One example is Face Value-the Hedy Lamar story which originated at Tribeca, then went to the Hamptons and came back for a second Tribeca grant last year. It was at our Tribeca selection committee meeting that committee member Darren Aronofsky (Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler) read Face Value and recommended his wife, Academy Award-winning actress Rachel Weisz, for the role of Hedy. By attracting people of Aronosky's caliber onto our committees-Marc Abraham (Children of Men, Flash of Genius), Sarah Green (Frieda, Girlfight), John Hart (Proof, Revolutionary Road), Caroline Baron (Capote)-Tribeca has catapulted Sloan into a front row industry seat. Face Value is slated to shoot in January 2010. $280,000 of this request would go directly to filmmakers, one reason for this program's effectiveness. Tribeca is an extremely strong performer, the lynch?pin of our screenplay development efforts, and is a well-regarded, high profile component of the Sloan Film Program. In addition to supporting the Tribeca Film Institute with its screenwriting development program, the Foundation has supported every Tribeca Film Festival since its inception in 2002, with total grants of $2,548,200.

    To develop new science and technology feature films for production and to showcase science and technology films and hold panels at the Tribeca Film Festival

    More
  • grantee: National Academy of Sciences
    amount: $250,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2009

    Co-funding for a project on The Impact of Copyright Policy on Innovation in the Digital Era

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Universal Access to Knowledge
    • Investigator Stephen Merrill

    The Board on Science, Technology and Economic Policy (STEP) of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) requests co-funding for a project on The Impact of Copyright Policy on Innovation in the Digital Era. We have identified the issues surrounding copyright as critical to our program in Digital Information Technology and the Dissemination of Knowledge but the debate surrounding copyright has been informed by more heat than light. This is an effort by the NAS to bring a more rational and systematic approach to discussions of copyright by expanding research in this area and by identifying a community of researchers with interest and knowledge of copyright to inform broader policy discussions. They would begin by commissioning three background papers: 1) a review of existing literature on the costs and benefits of copyright and related Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) policies; 2) A baseline estimate of the magnitude and categories of U.S. economic activity affected by copyright together with a discussion of the range of business models dependent on its protection; and 3) a theoretical analysis of how copyright might stimulate or inhibit innovation, collaboration, and creativity. The project will also create a public Web site to post papers, comments, and other discussion items regarding copyright. In the spring, NAS would host a day and a half workshop to address and prioritize a range of research topics and methodologies. We are being asked to cover half of the budget. Several Sloan staff would attend this workshop because so little rigorous work has been done in this area, and we believe issues of copyright and intellectual property cut to the heart of our program in Digital Information Technology and the Dissemination of Knowledge.

    Co-funding for a project on The Impact of Copyright Policy on Innovation in the Digital Era

    More
  • grantee: Swarthmore College
    amount: $313,029
    city: Swarthmore, PA
    year: 2009

    To launch a multi-campus project to improve understanding of undergraduate student migration into and out of science, engineering, and mathematics disciplines

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Lynne Molter

    In recent years our small program to improve retention and graduation rates for undergraduate and graduate students in STEM disciplines has focused on encouraging campuses to obtain and use good data on STEM enrollments, migration, retention, graduation rates and time-to-degree. Using small officer grants, we funded three projects: At the American Society for Engineering Education, focused on engineering. They are now ready to pilot test a new data collection template. At the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities, focused on time-to-degree. They are now considering what their next step should be. At Washington University, focused on all of these issues for selective public universities, private universities, and private colleges. The latter project, with leadership now transferred to Swarthmore College, has sparked the desire to create and institutionalize a consortium of campuses that collect uniform institutional data and survey students in order to improve understanding of undergraduate student migration into and out of science, engineering and mathematics disciplines. The group will start by reviewing and revising, as appropriate, the data collection template and survey instrument that emerged from the previous, preliminary project. The participating institutions will then initiate regular collection and reporting of data and surveying of students. At this time, fifteen institutions have agreed to participate, many of which were also involved in the preliminary project. The consortium's executive committee continues to recruit additional institutions to participate. Because it is important to have a critical mass of participants, including within each category of institution, if this request is approved, we will not issue the first check until there are at least 16 committed institutions, at least five in each of the three categories: private colleges, private universities, and public universities.

    To launch a multi-campus project to improve understanding of undergraduate student migration into and out of science, engineering, and mathematics disciplines

    More
  • grantee: Science Festival Foundation
    amount: $600,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2009

    To support the third World Science Festival and to develop a strategic business plan for the future

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program New Media
    • Investigator Tracy Day

    The first two World Science Festivals (WSF), in which Sloan played the initiatory role and then was one of two key early funders, have been major successes. The 2009 WSF sold out virtually every event and achieved massive media penetration. The WSF embodies the Sloan program in public understanding of science and technology and employs many similar modalities. All the institutions of higher learning in New York, along with the major art museums, science halls, cultural centers and performance spaces, play host to this city-wide science festival and bring their traditional audiences into the tent. Co-founders Alan Alda and Brian Greene appeared as hosts and eloquent spokespeople for the value and impact of science in our culture. This new request, at the same level as the first two years, includes $100,000 to support two new Sloan events for 2010 plus $100,000 earmarked for the development of a three to five year Strategic Plan and Business Development Initiative that will focus on the long?term growth, expansion and stability of the World Science Festival. The Foundation has supported the Science Festival Foundation since 2006 with total grants of $1,345,000.

    To support the third World Science Festival and to develop a strategic business plan for the future

    More
  • grantee: Manhattan Theatre Club
    amount: $500,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2009

    To commission, develop, and produce science and technology plays

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Theater
    • Investigator Annie MacRae

    The Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC), one of the nation's finest and most successful nonprofit theater companies, having received four of the last eight Pulitzer Prizes awarded in Drama, requests a renewal grant of $500,000 over the next three years to build on and expand the Sloan program. The centerpiece of this effort is four annual playwright commissions, three to mid?level or established playwrights and one to an emerging playwright. Sloan's collaboration with MTC is increasingly attracting leading playwrights and the resulting work is playing at theaters across the country. Since Proof in 2000 and Humble Boy in 2003-both MTC plays were supported by Sloan after others had developed them-six new plays commissioned by Sloan have gone on to be staged at major theaters across the country, including Fake currently at the Steppenwolf in Chicago and Intelligence Slave now at the Alley Theater in Houston. The Foundation has supported this work at the Manhattan Theatre Club since 2000 with grants totaling $1,180,000.

    To commission, develop, and produce science and technology plays

    More
  • grantee: Council on Foreign Relations
    amount: $100,286
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2009

    To fund a workshop on Reassessing Energy Security related to oil and gas

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Initiative Energy Security
    • Investigator Michael Levi

    As part of our exploration of whether to expand our support for research and public understanding of energy issues, we invited the Council on Foreign Relations to request funding for a workshop on energy security related to oil and gas. The workshop will have three important features: It will go beyond the platitudes and misconceptions that often dominate discussions of this subject. It will result in a well considered research agenda for this field that could guide our grantmaking if we decide to pursue the subject further. It will make a special effort to involve young scholars and policy analysts (meaning those under 40) from a diverse set of academic and professional backgrounds as a modest first step in ensuring that new, fresh blood is brought into the field. We believe that this workshop will be very useful and serve as an excellent foundation to help us decide what, if anything, we wish to do further in this field.

    To fund a workshop on Reassessing Energy Security related to oil and gas

    More
  • grantee: GuideStar USA, Inc.
    amount: $5,000
    city: Williamsburg, VA
    year: 2009

    To support completion of the Form 990 Project

    • Program Initiatives

    To support completion of the Form 990 Project

    More
  • grantee: The Brookings Institution
    amount: $96,400
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2009

    To advise and oversee the development of software that facilitates public use of demographic and redistricting data

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Investigator Michael McDonald

    To advise and oversee the development of software that facilitates public use of demographic and redistricting data

    More
  • grantee: George Mason University
    amount: $124,095
    city: Fairfax, VA
    year: 2009

    To demonstrate the feasibility of redistricting software accessibility through a web-browser

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Investigator Michael McDonald

    To demonstrate the feasibility of redistricting software accessibility through a web-browser

    More
  • grantee: National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, Inc.
    amount: $50,536
    city: White Plains, NY
    year: 2009

    To provide controlled online access to National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering's (NACME) Sloan Scholar database

    • Program Higher Education
    • Initiative Minority Ph.D.
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Aileen Walter

    To provide controlled online access to National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering's (NACME) Sloan Scholar database

    More
  • grantee: American Association for the Advancement of Science
    amount: $44,416
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2009

    To support a technical legal assistance workshop to help AAU campuses implement diversity programs in a manner that conforms to federal laws

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Daryl Chubin

    To support a technical legal assistance workshop to help AAU campuses implement diversity programs in a manner that conforms to federal laws

    More
  • grantee: American Society of Mechanical Engineers
    amount: $75,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2009

    To support a workshop to determine whether it is feasible to extend the life of existing nuclear power plants to sixty years and beyond

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator James Jones

    To support a workshop to determine whether it is feasible to extend the life of existing nuclear power plants to sixty years and beyond

    More
  • grantee: Center for a New American Security, Inc.
    amount: $66,760
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2009

    To generate a literature review and research agenda that explore the industrial organizational puzzles arising from the globalization of defense-related industries

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Ethan Kapstein

    To generate a literature review and research agenda that explore the industrial organizational puzzles arising from the globalization of defense-related industries

    More
  • grantee: University of Illinois at Chicago
    amount: $35,000
    city: Chicago, IL
    year: 2009

    To support a workshop of the Indoor Environment Grantees

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator David Eddington

    To support a workshop of the Indoor Environment Grantees

    More
  • grantee: National Academy of Sciences
    amount: $61,849
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2009

    To support a workshop on the data, analytical, and budgetary resources needed to regulate systematic financial risk

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Scott Weidman

    To support a workshop on the data, analytical, and budgetary resources needed to regulate systematic financial risk

    More
  • grantee: The Philanthropic Initiative, Inc.
    amount: $25,300
    city: Boston, MA
    year: 2009

    To identify, analyze, and discuss strategies for nurturing mathematical talent among New York City public school students who might not traditionally have opportunities to realize their full mathematical potential

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Joanne Duhl

    To identify, analyze, and discuss strategies for nurturing mathematical talent among New York City public school students who might not traditionally have opportunities to realize their full mathematical potential

    More
  • grantee: Purdue University
    amount: $84,831
    city: West Lafayette, IN
    year: 2009

    To fund for an additional year the recruitment and retention portion of the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership at Purdue University

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Kevin Gibson

    To fund for an additional year the recruitment and retention portion of the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership at Purdue University

    More
  • grantee: Brooklyn Academy of Music
    amount: $20,000
    city: Brooklyn, NY
    year: 2009

    Support for a Phillip Glass opera on Johannes Kepler and supplementary scientific material

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program New Media
    • Investigator Karen Hopkins

    Support for a Phillip Glass opera on Johannes Kepler and supplementary scientific material

    More
  • grantee: Harvey Wang
    amount: $45,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2009

    To research and write a book about the impact of the digital revolution on the art of photography

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Harvey Wang

    To research and write a book about the impact of the digital revolution on the art of photography

    More
  • grantee: Advocates for Children of New York, Inc.
    amount: $125,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2009

    To provide valuable quantitative and qualitative information about New York Public Schools at a sustainable cost

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Kim Sweet

    To provide valuable quantitative and qualitative information about New York Public Schools at a sustainable cost

    More
  • grantee: University of Arizona
    amount: $80,310
    city: Tucson, AZ
    year: 2009

    To fund for an additional year the recruitment and retention portion of the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership at the University of Arizona

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Maria Velez

    To fund for an additional year the recruitment and retention portion of the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership at the University of Arizona

    More
  • grantee: Carnegie Institution of Washington
    amount: $4,000,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2009

    To launch a decade-long effort to understand Earth's deep carbon cycle through an international Deep Carbon Observatory

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Deep Carbon Observatory
    • Investigator Robert Hazen

    In December 2008 the Trustees encouraged development of a new basic science program on "Deep Carbon," tentatively described in the Transition Strategy paper provided to the Trustees. With Trustee support, the Carnegie Institution of Washington (CIW) will launch the development of a worldwide Deep Carbon Observatory and serve as its anchor institution. The Deep Carbon Program would address four major areas. First, it would seek to estimate more accurately the reservoirs of carbon from the core, where iron may bind large amounts of carbon, through the mantle where convective cells may carry it upward to the crust which traps the reservoirs that are most familiar to humanity. While some crustal reservoirs may be "biotic," that is, formed from formerly living matter that is buried and cooked in the crust, it is now clear that Earth also contains much larger amounts of abiotic carbon, part of the primordial rock and gas at the planet's origins. Improving estimates of fluxes would be the second major focus of the Deep Carbon Observatory. The third focus would be the origins and synthesis of the particular chemical forms that carbon takes, including methane, which the high pressures and temperatures at great depths make possible. The fourth focus would be deep life. Humanity has never drilled deeper than life. The mud recovered from the deepest holes contains microbes. Geobiologists conjecture that the weight of the "deep hot biosphere" may rival the weight of the surface biosphere. The strategy of the Deep Carbon Observatory proposal draws on experiences of the Digital Sky Survey, Census of Marine Life, and other Sloan science initiatives. Success will depend on development of innovative instruments for working at very high pressures and temperatures. Success will also depend on high leveraging of Sloan funds: the CIW proposal aims to reach $50 million in additional commitments within three years. The leaders of the effort-Robert Hazen, a geologist and superb communicator with broad interests including biology, and Russell Hemley, a top expert in high-pressure instrumentation-have strong worldwide networks and propose the Deep Carbon Observatory with enormous excitement. The highly respected President of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, Richard Meserve, former chair of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, has participated directly in the project development and pledged Carnegie's own assets to the effort.

    To launch a decade-long effort to understand Earth's deep carbon cycle through an international Deep Carbon Observatory

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Los Angeles
    amount: $309,750
    city: Los Angeles, CA
    year: 2009

    For screenwriting and production of science and technology films by top film students

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Etana Jacobson

    This is one of a trio of three-year renewal grants from the nation's leading film schools to continue awarding screenwriting and production awards for science and technology films and to hold an annual science and technology seminar. Many producers are now combing through all the Sloan student winners for new scripts. Our 2008 Sloan Summit, which showcased the work of student winners, attracted executives from the major studios and independent film companies. University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), which had some earlier issues due to personnel changes, has made great strides during the past three years. In the last cycle, UCLA turned in the best performance of any Sloan film school, including two outstanding scripts (The Magic Pill; The Ten Commandments of Leo Szilard). Several Sloan films UCLA submitted to festivals across the country have won awards and one production (Death Strip) took home a Student Emmy. UCLA is now next in line should we support another first feature production grant. While UCLA has increased its film production grants to offset rising production costs and added a modest stipend for more science advisors, it has compensated for these increases with other cuts so there is no net budget increase from 2006.

    For screenwriting and production of science and technology films by top film students

    More
  • grantee: University of Southern California
    amount: $325,611
    city: Los Angeles, CA
    year: 2009

    For screenwriting and production of science and technology films by top film students

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Michael Renov

    This is one of a trio of three-year renewal grants from the nation's leading film schools to continue awarding screenwriting and production awards for science and technology films and to hold an annual science and technology seminar. Many producers are now combing through all the Sloan student winners for new scripts. Our 2008 Sloan Summit, which showcased the work of student winners, attracted executives from the major studios and independent film companies. University of Southern California (USC) is the oldest film school in the country and consistently competes with New York University for the ranking of number one film school in the nation. It boasts the biggest program among our six schools and is also the only one that gives out a Sloan animation prize. USC has very strong ties with the industry and active alumni involved with the school include George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis. USC graduates have done well in securing industry jobs and enjoy the benefits of a very strong network. USC has been very sensitive to the economic situation and this request is $5,000 lower than the previous request in 2006.

    For screenwriting and production of science and technology films by top film students

    More
  • grantee: New York University
    amount: $429,450
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2009

    For screenwriting and production of science and technology films by top film students

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Sheril Antonio

    This is one of a trio of three-year renewal grants from the nation's leading film schools to continue awarding screenwriting and production awards for science and technology films and to hold an annual science and technology seminar. Many producers are now combing through all the Sloan student winners for new scripts. Our 2008 Sloan Summit, which showcased the work of student winners, attracted executives from the major studios and independent film companies. New York University Tisch School of the Arts, arguably our strongest overall performer, has continued to develop and refine its program. This year they propose several changes, including the addition of a "script doctor"-Professor Ezra Sacks, an established screenwriter-to advise and assist students in the development and writing of their screenplays. These changes and improvements have all been offset by cuts in other parts of the budget so the only net increase from 2006 is a small one for film production-from $20,000 to $25,000 a film or an increase of $10,000 a year for three years-because production costs have increased significantly. From the start, NYU Tisch has demonstrated a high degree of commitment and belief in this program. Tisch, usually tied with University of Southern California for number one in the national film school rankings, has devoted more faculty, administration and resources and given out more awards than any other Sloan film school. Trustee Campbell excused herself from the meeting when this grant was discussed.

    For screenwriting and production of science and technology films by top film students

    More
  • grantee: Film Independent, Inc.
    amount: $156,000
    city: Los Angeles, CA
    year: 2009

    To develop three science and technology films through the production process

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Josh Welsh

    Film Independent is one of the largest and most prominent film organizations dedicated to independent films in the United States. FI sponsors screenings, special events, film education and talent development for its 6,000 filmmaker members, who include established Oscar-winning actors and directors. Film Independent performed very well with the one previous two-year grant they received, yielding two outstanding projects: Basmati Blues, a romantic comedy with Bollywood elements about a female geneticist from the U.S. who goes to India to help farmers with genetically modified rice; and The Man Who Knew Infinity, a tale about the great Indian mathematician Ramanujan. FI requests a renewal for two years of continued support for the Producer's Lab grant, an intense seven-week program that focuses on ten scripts each year, and would also like to establish a $25,000 named fellowship for a second science-themed project. This fellowship would include a $10,000 production grant, underwriting for participation in Fast Track, an intensive film financing market that takes place at the Los Angeles Film Festival, and year-round support and resources from FI, including mentorship from science advisors. The thrust of both these programs, as with projects like Hedy Lamarr, is to try and push more of these science and technology film projects into production and distribution.

    To develop three science and technology films through the production process

    More
  • grantee: Southern Regional Education Board
    amount: $598,851
    city: Atlanta, GA
    year: 2009

    To fund continued participation by Sloan Scholars and associated faculty in the annual Compact for Faculty Diversity's Institute on Teaching and Mentoring and the 2010 Conference of Directors of Sloan Minority Programs

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Ansley Abraham

    Since 1998 students in our Minority Ph.D. Program who are committed to or are considering academic careers and their faculty mentors have been invited to participate in the Institute on Teaching and Mentoring of the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB). The current request from SREB is for a three-year renewal of our grant that enables them to invite our students and faculty to the Institute and to run the next conference of campus directors with the Institute in 2010. For the most part, SREB proposed to continue doing what it has done successfully in the past. They will also make significant improvements in the areas of evaluation and in making participation in the Institute more meaningful to the students and faculty in our Indigenous Graduate Partnership Program. Participation in the Institute and the biennial conference is now an established and valuable component of the infrastructure of our minority programs that we would like to continue.

    To fund continued participation by Sloan Scholars and associated faculty in the annual Compact for Faculty Diversity's Institute on Teaching and Mentoring and the 2010 Conference of Directors of Sloan Minority Programs

    More
  • grantee: Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences
    amount: $84,378
    city: Hanover, MD
    year: 2009

    To support and institutionalize a working relationship between INFORMS and the Industry Studies Association through formal academic panels at INFORMS Practitioner conferences

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Mark Doherty

    To support and institutionalize a working relationship between INFORMS and the Industry Studies Association through formal academic panels at INFORMS Practitioner conferences

    More
  • grantee: Harvard University
    amount: $123,954
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2009

    For research on Collaborative Filtering in Financial Markets

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Richard Zeckhauser

    For research on Collaborative Filtering in Financial Markets

    More
  • grantee: Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, Inc.
    amount: $18,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2009

    To fund an infrastructure working session at the "Thinking Big, New York and London" conference to be convened in New York in September 2009

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Hope Cohen

    To fund an infrastructure working session at the "Thinking Big, New York and London" conference to be convened in New York in September 2009

    More
  • grantee: The Brookings Institution
    amount: $44,159
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2009

    To provide expert input into the debate over automobile industry restructuring and to provide an agenda for related policy-oriented research in microeconomics

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Martin Baily

    To provide expert input into the debate over automobile industry restructuring and to provide an agenda for related policy-oriented research in microeconomics

    More
  • grantee: The Brookings Institution
    amount: $26,073
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2009

    To develop policy advice and a research agenda for applying behavioral economics to federal regulatory design

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Sendhil Mullainathan

    To develop policy advice and a research agenda for applying behavioral economics to federal regulatory design

    More
  • grantee: University of Oregon
    amount: $119,835
    city: Eugene, OR
    year: 2009

    To support a pilot study to examine biological diversity in the indoor environment

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Jessica Green

    To support a pilot study to examine biological diversity in the indoor environment

    More
  • grantee: University of Maryland, College Park
    amount: $323,115
    city: College Park, MD
    year: 2009

    To create and launch an International Financial Crisis Database that provides open access information about many countries, many centuries, and many variables

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Carmen Reinhart

    Financial crises are thankfully infrequent. That means looking for patterns requires lots and lots of data. Two top macroeconomists, Ken Rogoff from Harvard and Carmen Reinhart from the University of Maryland, have been collecting financial crisis records covering many variables in many countries and going back many years. Their main finding is that, even though people always like to say, that this time is different, financial crises do follow patterns. Having heard about this work, scholars from around the world have contacted Reinhart and Rogoff about gaining access to their data and contributing even more data to expand the historical record. Rather than keeping this wealth of information to themselves, they plan to create a living and open-access database that researchers and the interested public can put to good use and help to expand. Launching this "International Financial Crisis Database" not only represents a great service to the field, it is also consistent with the Sloan Foundation's tradition of facilitating cooperation by scholars from around the world in compiling comprehensive, high quality, and open access research tools.

    To create and launch an International Financial Crisis Database that provides open access information about many countries, many centuries, and many variables

    More
  • grantee: Carnegie Mellon University
    amount: $149,776
    city: Pittsburgh, PA
    year: 2009

    To initiate research on the industrial organization of credit rating agencies

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Chester Spatt

    Credit rating agencies (CRAs) are supposed to help us measure the financial risk associated with securities issues by private and public organizations which turn to the public for financing. A bond rated AAA by Standard & Poor's, for example, means that its probability of default is deemed closer to zero than securities in any other category. On the other hand, a BB rating or lower earns it "junk" status, which the issuer must compensate for by offering investors a higher yield. Clearly, the issuers who pay for these ratings would like the highest grade possible. Do they "shop" by going to Moody's or Fitch or perhaps one of the lesser-known ratings agencies if they do not like Standard & Poor's estimates? Commentators have been quick to blame the CRAs for the current financial crisis since so many securities that they rated AAA or the equivalent are now considered toxic. Professor Chester Spatt has begun building the conceptual framework needed to address the important questions now being asked about CRAs.

    To initiate research on the industrial organization of credit rating agencies

    More
  • grantee: University of Pittsburgh
    amount: $339,740
    city: Pittsburgh, PA
    year: 2009

    For final support to establish the Industry Studies Association as a self-sustaining, independent organization

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Frank Giarratani

    As described in the Transition Strategy Paper, the Industry Studies Program as it has been structured in the past will be brought to a close in 2010. In December 2008 the Trustees approved the first element of that plan: providing final financial support for the Industry Studies Annual Conferences. This proposal implements the second key element of the plan: to provide tie-off funding for the secretariat at the University of Pittsburgh, in order to develop the Industry Studies Association (ISA) into a self-sustaining, independent organization. We have been moving along this path over the past two years. In October 2007 a legal entity-the Industry Studies Association-was incorporated in the State of Pennsylvania, and officers and members of its Board of Directors were chosen. Over the next few months Professor Frank Giarratani, coordinator of the industry studies secretariat at the University of Pittsburgh since 2003 and now the President of the ISA, will work with the ISA Board to map out a transition that will allow the ISA to become a self-sustaining, independent organization by December 2010 with its activities financed entirely by member dues, conference revenues, grants and gifts. The goal of this grant is to give those in this scholarly community a chance to show whether there is enough interest to support such an association.

    For final support to establish the Industry Studies Association as a self-sustaining, independent organization

    More
  • grantee: National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, Inc.
    amount: $4,518,400
    city: White Plains, NY
    year: 2009

    To fund new obligations in the Minority Ph.D. Program and the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Program from July 1, 2009, through June 30, 2010

    • Program Higher Education
    • Initiative Minority Ph.D.
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Aileen Walter

    During 2009 we will be conducting a full review of our program for STEM Education for Underrepresented Groups, especially the Minority Ph.D. Program and the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Program. However, in order to avoid interrupting these programs while we conduct this review, we seek approval of funds that NACME will need to fund expected new obligations incurred during the 2009-10 academic year. NACME administers these two programs on a day-to-day basis, paying and monitoring both student scholarships and grants to campuses in the feeder component of the Minority Ph.D. program and to two special cases within that program. Grants to the campuses that participate in the Indigenous Graduate Partnership are not administered by NACME. Even while we review these programs, we are making the following immediate changes: Reducing the cost of the two programs by about 20% and imposing a cap on their spending. For AY 2009-10, the cap will be 100 new scholarships in the Minority Ph.D. program (compared to a target in recent years of 120) and 25 in the Indigenous Graduate Program compared to 33 in the current academic year. Tying each grant to NACME to a particular academic year cohort of students and to grants administered by NACME that are approved within the academic year. All renewal grants to universities that are administered by NACME will, for this year, be held to one year.

    To fund new obligations in the Minority Ph.D. Program and the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Program from July 1, 2009, through June 30, 2010

    More
  • grantee: WGBH Educational Foundation
    amount: $2,500,000
    city: Boston, MA
    year: 2009

    To research and produce four documentaries about the role of science and technology in history for The American Experience

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Television
    • Investigator Mark Samels

    The American Experience, the longest running and most esteemed history series on television, requests a grant of $2.5 million for four documentaries over the next two years that will focus on the role of science and technology. The four proposed episodes include a two-hour special by the acclaimed director Ric Burns "Into the Deep: America, Whaling, and the World" that tells the story of three centuries of American whaling and traces the remarkable growth of this early global industry to its decline; another two-hour show about the creation of the Panama Canal, the largest and most ambitious engineering project in history; a one-hour feature about the harrowing scientific expedition to the Arctic led by Adolphus Greely in 1881, the first international Polar Year; and a fourth program to be determined that will be reviewed by outsiders and approved by the staff prior to beginning production. The budget has been cut by half a million dollars from the original request given current funding constraints, and we also now demand, given our long association with this series, that the American Experience produces and broadcasts four S&T shows for the price of three. In addition, two of the shows are two hours long so we are effectively getting six hours of programming while paying for three hours, or a doubling of our production allotment. The American Experience continues to define excellence in documentary filmmaking-it has received every television award numerous times-and is America's most-watched history series.

    To research and produce four documentaries about the role of science and technology in history for The American Experience

    More
  • grantee: Arius Association
    amount: $20,000
    city: Baden, Switzerland
    year: 2009

    To fund promotion of multinational high-level waste repositories outside of Europe

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Charles McCombie

    To fund promotion of multinational high-level waste repositories outside of Europe

    More
  • grantee: University of Washington
    amount: $31,538
    city: Seattle, WA
    year: 2009

    To supplement a previous grant for the Project to Access Climate in Engineering to derive maximum benefit from a newly-planned December 2010 meeting in Banff

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Suzanne Brainard

    To supplement a previous grant for the Project to Access Climate in Engineering to derive maximum benefit from a newly-planned December 2010 meeting in Banff

    More
  • grantee: Public Library of Science
    amount: $125,000
    city: San Francisco, CA
    year: 2009

    To launch online open access article collections for the Census of Marine Life and to prototype hubs as a new way to organize scientific literature for scholarly and public benefit

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Peter Jerram

    To launch online open access article collections for the Census of Marine Life and to prototype hubs as a new way to organize scientific literature for scholarly and public benefit

    More
  • grantee: Council of Graduate Schools
    amount: $80,845
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2009

    To develop a national strategy for enhancing the Master's Degree completion in STEM disciplines

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Debra Stewart

    To develop a national strategy for enhancing the Master's Degree completion in STEM disciplines

    More
  • grantee: Harvard University
    amount: $25,000
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2009

    To provide partial support for the 2009 Sloan-Swartz Meeting on Computational Neuroscience

    • Program Science
    • Investigator Markus Meister

    To provide partial support for the 2009 Sloan-Swartz Meeting on Computational Neuroscience

    More
  • grantee: American Museum of the Moving Image
    amount: $72,313
    city: Astoria, NY
    year: 2009

    To enhance the Sloan Film Program by showcasing winning films and filmmakers, holding annual events and creating a science and film web hub

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Carl Goodman

    To enhance the Sloan Film Program by showcasing winning films and filmmakers, holding annual events and creating a science and film web hub

    More
  • grantee: Yale University
    amount: $45,000
    city: New Haven, CT
    year: 2009

    Support for the writing of a scientific memoir by Benoit Mandelbrot

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Michael Frame

    Support for the writing of a scientific memoir by Benoit Mandelbrot

    More
  • grantee: University of Pittsburgh
    amount: $300,000
    city: Pittsburgh, PA
    year: 2008

    To provide final financial support for Industry Studies Annual Conferences

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Frank Giarratani

    To provide final financial support for Industry Studies Annual Conferences

    More
  • grantee: Sloan Projects LLC
    amount: $2,500,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2008

    Co-production of a feature film and television broadcast about screen siren and unheralded inventor Hedy Lamarr (Program Related Investment)

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Doron Weber

    Co-production of a feature film and television broadcast about screen siren and unheralded inventor Hedy Lamarr (Program Related Investment)

    More
  • grantee: Sundance Institute
    amount: $487,000
    city: Beverly Hills, CA
    year: 2008

    To support a program of S&T films, film panels and film fellowships at Sundance

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Kenneth Brecher

    To support a program of S&T films, film panels and film fellowships at Sundance

    More
  • grantee: Science Festival Foundation
    amount: $650,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2008

    To support the development and production of the second World Science Festival

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program New Media
    • Investigator Judith Cox

    To support the development and production of the second World Science Festival

    More
  • grantee: Fund for the City of New York
    amount: $450,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2008

    To continue support for the Sloan Public Service Awards

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Mary McCormick

    To continue support for the Sloan Public Service Awards

    More
  • grantee: New York Public Radio
    amount: $225,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2008

    One year of support for Radiolab, an innovative public radio show about science

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Radio
    • Investigator Ellen Horne

    One year of support for Radiolab, an innovative public radio show about science

    More
  • grantee: Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
    amount: $130,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2008

    To produce a history brochure for the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's 75th Anniversary

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Paula Olsiewski

    To produce a history brochure for the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's 75th Anniversary

    More
  • grantee: Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
    amount: $175,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2008

    To support activities associated with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's 75th Anniversary

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Paula Olsiewski

    To support activities associated with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's 75th Anniversary

    More
  • grantee: Resources for the Future, Inc.
    amount: $330,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2008

    To conduct the first phase of a project to design and implement more effective measurement and monitoring of the world's forests

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Initiative Forests
    • Investigator Molly Macauley

    To conduct the first phase of a project to design and implement more effective measurement and monitoring of the world's forests

    More
  • grantee: American Association for the Advancement of Science
    amount: $34,320
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2008

    To supplement previous finding for a technical legal assistance workshop to help universities implement diversity programs

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Daryl Chubin

    To supplement previous finding for a technical legal assistance workshop to help universities implement diversity programs

    More
  • grantee: Istvan Hargittai
    amount: $13,320
    city: , Hungary
    year: 2008

    Research for a book on Edward Teller

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Istvan Hargittai

    Research for a book on Edward Teller

    More
  • grantee: MentorNet
    amount: $98,500
    city: Sunnyvale, CA
    year: 2008

    To enable MentorNet to conduct strategic planning

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator David Porush

    To enable MentorNet to conduct strategic planning

    More
  • grantee: University of New Mexico
    amount: $61,002
    city: Albuquerque, NM
    year: 2008

    To conduct feasibility study for a program to expand participation of underrepresented minorities in the earth sciences

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Yemane Asmerom

    To conduct feasibility study for a program to expand participation of underrepresented minorities in the earth sciences

    More
  • grantee: Appropriation
    amount: $12,000
    city:  
    year: 2008

    To support meetings, travel, and preliminary background projects that will help launch our program on U.S. Economic Institutions, Behavior, and Performance

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance

    To support meetings, travel, and preliminary background projects that will help launch our program on U.S. Economic Institutions, Behavior, and Performance

    More
  • grantee: Neil D. Levin Graduate Institute of International Relations & Commerce Foundation, Inc.
    amount: $60,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2008

    Support for "Innovate New York", a panel discussion series on how to make New York City more innovative

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Garrick Utley

    Support for "Innovate New York", a panel discussion series on how to make New York City more innovative

    More
  • grantee: Harvard University
    amount: $60,000
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2008

    To organize and hold a conference about promising new areas of research in corporate governance

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator John Coates

    To organize and hold a conference about promising new areas of research in corporate governance

    More
  • grantee: University of Pennsylvania
    amount: $733,318
    city: Philadelphia, PA
    year: 2008

    To develop theoretically and empirically sound frameworks for guiding regulatory policy in the financial sector

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Franklin Allen

    To develop theoretically and empirically sound frameworks for guiding regulatory policy in the financial sector

    More
  • grantee: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    amount: $588,800
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2008

    Research on Market Institutions and Financial Market Risk

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator James Poterba

    Research on Market Institutions and Financial Market Risk

    More
  • grantee: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    amount: $302,000
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2008

    To perform an in-depth empirical study of the strategic, economic and epidemiological factors affecting the global location of clinical trials in the biopharmaceutical industry

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Ernst Berndt

    To perform an in-depth empirical study of the strategic, economic and epidemiological factors affecting the global location of clinical trials in the biopharmaceutical industry

    More
  • grantee: The Brookings Institution
    amount: $406,495
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2008

    To commission papers, hold conferences, and publish a series of research articles on financial markets and institutions in the journal: Brookings Papers on Economic Activity

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Karen Dynan

    To commission papers, hold conferences, and publish a series of research articles on financial markets and institutions in the journal: Brookings Papers on Economic Activity

    More
  • grantee: Appropriation
    amount: $450,000
    city:  
    year: 2008

    To provide small grants for promising new books on science and technology

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books

    To provide small grants for promising new books on science and technology

    More
  • grantee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    amount: $400,000
    city: Cambridge, MA
    year: 2008

    To partially fund an MIT study on the Future of Solar Energy

    • Program Energy and Environment
    • Investigator Robert Armstrong

    To partially fund an MIT study on the Future of Solar Energy

    More
  • grantee: Galatee Films
    amount: $2,700,000
    city: Paris, France
    year: 2008

    To complete production of the seminal documentary film Oceans, to cement its public affiliation with the Census of Marine Life, and to enhance its legacy for the scientific community

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Jacques Perrin

    To complete production of the seminal documentary film Oceans, to cement its public affiliation with the Census of Marine Life, and to enhance its legacy for the scientific community

    More
  • grantee: University of Colorado, Boulder
    amount: $1,045,106
    city: Boulder, CO
    year: 2008

    To provide renewed support to catalog the indoor microbial world

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Norman Pace

    To provide renewed support to catalog the indoor microbial world

    More
  • grantee: New York Public Radio
    amount: $487,500
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2008

    To make science and technology a regular feature on Studio 360

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Radio
    • Investigator David Krasnow

    To make science and technology a regular feature on Studio 360

    More
  • grantee: L.A. Theatre Works
    amount: $319,024
    city: Venice, CA
    year: 2008

    To record 4 new science radio plays, including 2 Sloan commissions, and to broadcast the complete 17-science-play series on public radio and in libraries and schools

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Radio
    • Investigator Susan Loewenberg

    To record 4 new science radio plays, including 2 Sloan commissions, and to broadcast the complete 17-science-play series on public radio and in libraries and schools

    More
  • grantee: CUNY TV Foundation
    amount: $298,253
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2008

    To research and produce a half hour film about the Sloan Foundation for the 75th anniversary event and to broadcast a version of this film on CUNY TV

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Television
    • Investigator Robert Isaacson

    To research and produce a half hour film about the Sloan Foundation for the 75th anniversary event and to broadcast a version of this film on CUNY TV

    More
  • grantee: Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association Inc.
    amount: $987,160
    city: Arlington, VA
    year: 2008

    To research, produce and broadcast a regular, branded bi-weekly series on financial and economic literacy as part of The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, with extensive web components and outreach

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Television
    • Investigator Simon Marks

    To research, produce and broadcast a regular, branded bi-weekly series on financial and economic literacy as part of The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, with extensive web components and outreach

    More
  • grantee: Fred Friendly Seminars, Inc.
    amount: $1,000,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2008

    For one-hour PBS broadcast and extensive outreach of a Socratic Dialogue on Severe Mental Illness: Law, Science and Society

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Television
    • Investigator Richard Kilberg

    For one-hour PBS broadcast and extensive outreach of a Socratic Dialogue on Severe Mental Illness: Law, Science and Society

    More
  • grantee: WGBH Educational Foundation
    amount: $1,700,000
    city: Boston, MA
    year: 2008

    Support for scientist profiles on NOVA scienceNOW prime time broadcast and on the world wide web

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Television
    • Investigator Paula Apsell

    Support for scientist profiles on NOVA scienceNOW prime time broadcast and on the world wide web

    More
  • grantee: GuideStar USA, Inc.
    amount: $5,000
    city: Williamsburg, VA
    year: 2008

    Support for a complete data redesign for the new Form 990

    • Program Initiatives

    Support for a complete data redesign for the new Form 990

    More
  • grantee: National Academy of Sciences
    amount: $15,728
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2008

    Support for travel by international experts to attend the NAS Workshop on Assessing Economic Impacts of Greenhouse Gas Mitigation

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator James Zucchetto

    Support for travel by international experts to attend the NAS Workshop on Assessing Economic Impacts of Greenhouse Gas Mitigation

    More
  • grantee: Catticus Corporation
    amount: $121,976
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2008

    For co-production for a two-hour PBS documentary based on Michael Pollan's bestseller, The Botany of Desire

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Television
    • Investigator Michael Schwarz

    For co-production for a two-hour PBS documentary based on Michael Pollan's bestseller, The Botany of Desire

    More
  • grantee: Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities
    amount: $14,500
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2008

    To design a research project to develop and evaluate a standardized reporting module for undergraduate completion rates and time-to-degree by discipline

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Christine Keller

    To design a research project to develop and evaluate a standardized reporting module for undergraduate completion rates and time-to-degree by discipline

    More
  • grantee: Columbia University
    amount: $100,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2008

    For a conference to spur discussion of "imperfect knowledge economics" for problems in exchange rates, equity markets, and behavioral economics

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Edmund Phelps

    For a conference to spur discussion of "imperfect knowledge economics" for problems in exchange rates, equity markets, and behavioral economics

    More
  • grantee: American Association for the Advancement of Science
    amount: $45,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2008

    To fund a technical legal assistance workshop to help universities implement diversity programs

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Daryl Chubin

    To fund a technical legal assistance workshop to help universities implement diversity programs

    More
  • grantee: American Society for Engineering Education
    amount: $44,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2008

    To develop and prepare for pilot implementation procedures for collecting and analyzing success data for undergraduate engineering students

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Gene Cilento

    To develop and prepare for pilot implementation procedures for collecting and analyzing success data for undergraduate engineering students

    More
  • grantee: Foundation Center
    amount: $195,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2008

    For renewal of three year grant for operational support

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator R. Albilal

    For renewal of three year grant for operational support

    More
  • grantee: Office for Oregon Health Policy Research
    amount: $1,000,000
    city: Salem, OR
    year: 2008

    To study the impact of health insurance coverage on the health and the quality of healthcare for low income adults using the Oregon Health Insurance Lottery as a natural experiment

    • Program Economics
    • Sub-program Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance
    • Investigator Amy Finkelstein

    To study the impact of health insurance coverage on the health and the quality of healthcare for low income adults using the Oregon Health Insurance Lottery as a natural experiment

    More
  • grantee: Educational Policy Institute, Inc.
    amount: $39,975
    city: Virginia Beach, VA
    year: 2008

    To enable the EPI to identify comprehensively and describe current and recent efforts at the national, regional, state, and institutional levels to collect individual-level data in an effort to track student progress in postsecondary education

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Watson Swail

    To enable the EPI to identify comprehensively and describe current and recent efforts at the national, regional, state, and institutional levels to collect individual-level data in an effort to track student progress in postsecondary education

    More
  • grantee: University of California, Berkeley
    amount: $657,700
    city: Berkeley, CA
    year: 2008

    To develop fungal barcodes and use them to explore the indoor environment

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Thomas Bruns

    To develop fungal barcodes and use them to explore the indoor environment

    More
  • grantee: National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, Inc.
    amount: $456,400
    city: White Plains, NY
    year: 2008

    To enable the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering to continue administering the Sloan Minority Ph.D. Program and American Indian Graduate Program for an additional three years

    • Program Higher Education
    • Initiative Minority Ph.D.
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Aileen Walter

    To enable the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering to continue administering the Sloan Minority Ph.D. Program and American Indian Graduate Program for an additional three years

    More
  • grantee: Marine Biological Laboratory
    amount: $1,215,100
    city: Woods Hole, MA
    year: 2008

    To test and develop the rare biosphere as a field of study

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Microbiology of the Built Environment
    • Investigator Mitchell Sogin

    To test and develop the rare biosphere as a field of study

    More
  • grantee: Metropolitan Opera Association, Inc.
    amount: $1,000,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2008

    For PBS broadcast and live high-definition transmission into movie theaters of the science opera Dr. Atomic, along with science symposia and ancillary outreach activities.

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program New Media
    • Investigator Elizabeth Hurley

    For PBS broadcast and live high-definition transmission into movie theaters of the science opera Dr. Atomic, along with science symposia and ancillary outreach activities.

    More
  • grantee: Fund for the City of New York
    amount: $1,360,750
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2008

    Support for Sloan Awards for Excellence in Teaching Science and Mathematics in New York City Public High Schools

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Mary McCormick

    Support for Sloan Awards for Excellence in Teaching Science and Mathematics in New York City Public High Schools

    More
  • grantee: National Public Radio, Inc.
    amount: $400,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2008

    Support for a science-and-art strand on Science Friday radio broadcasts and on the Science Friday Web site

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Radio
    • Investigator Ira Flatow

    Support for a science-and-art strand on Science Friday radio broadcasts and on the Science Friday Web site

    More
  • grantee: Appropriation
    amount: $770,000
    city:  
    year: 2008

    To launch a Minority Post-Doctoral Fellowship Pilot Program.

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups

    To launch a Minority Post-Doctoral Fellowship Pilot Program.

    More
  • grantee: American Red Cross in Greater New York
    amount: $236,779
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2008

    To support the creation and launch of the New York City Emergency Preparedness Campaign.

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Theresa Bischoff

    To support the creation and launch of the New York City Emergency Preparedness Campaign.

    More
  • grantee: Hourglass Group, Ltd.
    amount: $20,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2008

    Support for a play about the secret communication system invented by Hedy Lamarr and George Antheil.

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Theater
    • Investigator Elyse Singer

    Support for a play about the secret communication system invented by Hedy Lamarr and George Antheil.

    More
  • grantee: Washington University in St. Louis
    amount: $19,200
    city: St. Louis, MO
    year: 2008

    To fund a third meeting for the study of student migration in and out of STEM fields

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Science of Learning STEM
    • Investigator Robert Koff

    To fund a third meeting for the study of student migration in and out of STEM fields

    More
  • grantee: American Film Institute
    amount: $312,178
    city: Los Angeles, CA
    year: 2008

    To hold a three-day summit meeting in Hollywood of the entire Sloan film program

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Joe Petricca

    To hold a three-day summit meeting in Hollywood of the entire Sloan film program

    More
  • grantee: American Museum of Natural History
    amount: $44,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2008

    To develop a web version of: "The Biology of the Horse" interactive that is part of the: The Horse exhibition at the Museum of Natural History

    • Program Initiatives
    • Sub-program New York City Initiatives
    • Investigator Steven Mau

    To develop a web version of: "The Biology of the Horse" interactive that is part of the: The Horse exhibition at the Museum of Natural History

    More
  • grantee: Hamptons International Film Festival
    amount: $487,000
    city: East Hampton, NY
    year: 2008

    To commission and highlight science and technology films and to develop S&T screenplays

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Karen Arikian

    To commission and highlight science and technology films and to develop S&T screenplays

    More
  • grantee: Lyrasis
    amount: $250,000
    city: Philadelphia, PA
    year: 2008

    To encourage a regional scanning center in the Mid-Atlantic Region for digitizing library collections under open principles

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Universal Access to Knowledge
    • Investigator Catherine Wilt

    To encourage a regional scanning center in the Mid-Atlantic Region for digitizing library collections under open principles

    More
  • grantee: Brooklyn Academy of Music
    amount: $20,000
    city: Brooklyn, NY
    year: 2008

    To screen two Sloan winning Sundance films and hold a panel with Sloan Filmmaker at the Sundance Institute at BAM festival

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Karen Hopkins

    To screen two Sloan winning Sundance films and hold a panel with Sloan Filmmaker at the Sundance Institute at BAM festival

    More
  • grantee: Columbia University
    amount: $45,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2008

    Support for a book on the influence of scientific medicine on leading thinkers and artists

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Books
    • Investigator Eric Kandel

    Support for a book on the influence of scientific medicine on leading thinkers and artists

    More
  • grantee: Astrophysical Research Consortium
    amount: $40,047
    city: Seattle, WA
    year: 2008

    To fund an international forum titled: The Sloan Digital Sky Survey: Asteroids to Cosmology

    • Program Science
    • Sub-program Sloan Digital Sky Survey
    • Investigator David Weinberg

    To fund an international forum titled: The Sloan Digital Sky Survey: Asteroids to Cosmology

    More
  • grantee: Public Library of Science
    amount: $45,000
    city: San Francisco, CA
    year: 2008

    To develop a business plan for creating on-line hubs around scientific and medical subjects.

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Scholarly Communication
    • Investigator Peter Jerram

    To develop a business plan for creating on-line hubs around scientific and medical subjects.

    More
  • grantee: Appropriation
    amount: $250,000
    city:  
    year: 2008

    To fund small projects that will encourage universities and colleges to collect and use data related to student completion rates and time-to-degree.

    • Program Higher Education
    • Initiative Minority Ph.D.
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups

    In March 2008, the Board of Trustees approved the expenditure of up to $250,000 to fund small projects to encourage colleges and universities to collect and use data on student completion rates and time-to-degree. The following grants were made against this previously authorized fund.

    To fund small projects that will encourage universities and colleges to collect and use data related to student completion rates and time-to-degree.

    More
  • grantee: Tribeca Film Institute
    amount: $689,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2008

    To develop new science and technology feature films for production and to showcase S&T films and hold panels at the Tribeca Film Festival

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Film
    • Investigator Jane Rosenthal

    To develop new science and technology feature films for production and to showcase S&T films and hold panels at the Tribeca Film Festival

    More
  • grantee: National Geographic Society
    amount: $1,500,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2008

    For co-funding for a drama documentary about Charles Darwin to be aired on NOVA and National Geographic Channel

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program Television
    • Investigator Michael Rosenfeld

    For co-funding for a drama documentary about Charles Darwin to be aired on NOVA and National Geographic Channel

    More
  • grantee: Wikimedia Foundation
    amount: $3,000,000
    city: San Francisco, CA
    year: 2008

    To develop Wikimedia's organizational capacity and improve the quality of its flagship Wikipedia along with ancillary educational services

    • Program Digital Technology
    • Sub-program Universal Access to Knowledge
    • Investigator Erik Moller

    To develop Wikimedia's organizational capacity and improve the quality of its flagship Wikipedia along with ancillary educational services

    More
  • grantee: Southern Regional Education Board
    amount: $123,309
    city: Atlanta, GA
    year: 2008

    To fund the 2008 Biennial Conference of Program Directors in the Sloan Foundation's Minority Ph.D. and American Indian Graduate Programs

    • Program Higher Education
    • Initiative Minority Ph.D.
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Ansley Abraham

    To fund the 2008 Biennial Conference of Program Directors in the Sloan Foundation's Minority Ph.D. and American Indian Graduate Programs

    More
  • grantee: University of Alaska, Anchorage
    amount: $240,000
    city: Anchorage, AK
    year: 2008

    To launch and fund the first three years of an American Indian Graduate Program at the University of Alaska, Anchorage and the University of Alaska, Fairbanks

    • Program Higher Education
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Herb Schroeder

    To launch and fund the first three years of an American Indian Graduate Program at the University of Alaska, Anchorage and the University of Alaska, Fairbanks

    More
  • grantee: National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, Inc.
    amount: $4,024,421
    city: White Plains, NY
    year: 2008

    To fund the Minority Ph.D. Program and the American Indian Program from July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008

    • Program Higher Education
    • Initiative Minority Ph.D.
    • Sub-program Education and Professional Advancement for Underrepresented Groups
    • Investigator Aileen Walter

    To fund the Minority Ph.D. Program and the American Indian Program from July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008

    More
  • grantee: Philanthropy New York
    amount: $24,000
    city: New York, NY
    year: 2008

    General Support (Membership dues)

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Ronna Brown

    General Support (Membership dues)

    More
  • grantee: Independent Sector
    amount: $15,000
    city: Washington, DC
    year: 2008

    General Support (Membership dues)

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Diana Aviv

    General Support (Membership dues)

    More
  • grantee: Council on Foundations, Inc.
    amount: $45,000
    city: Arlington, VA
    year: 2008

    General Support (Membership Dues)

    • Program Initiatives
    • Investigator Steve Gunderson

    General Support (Membership Dues)

    More
  • grantee: Princeton University
    amount: $22,900
    city: Princeton, NJ
    year: 2008

    To provide partial support for the 2008 Sloan-Swartz Center for Theoretical Neurobiology Summer Workshop

    • Program Science
    • Investigator Carlos Brody

    To provide partial support for the 2008 Sloan-Swartz Center for Theoretical Neurobiology Summer Workshop

    More
  • grantee: Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason & Science
    amount: $45,000
    city: Savannah, GA
    year: 2008

    Support for Science & Arts Lecture and Performance Series

    • Program Public Understanding
    • Sub-program New Media
    • Investigator Karen Owens

    Support for Science & Arts Lecture and Performance Series

    More